The Soldier Makes a Friend
by Xrangel
Summary: Mukuro Ikusaba had never really gotten close with anybody except for her sister. Born an orphan, Junko was all she really had. Even in Fenrir, she hadn't made any friends... so when she joined Hope's Peak, she didn't expect anything different. However, a certain hope filled boy with an ahoge defies her expectations. *Slight OOC*
1. Chapter 1

"Hope's Peak Academy…" Ikusaba muses to herself. After receiving an invitation letter while at Fenrir, she had made plans to come here. While she was back in Japan, she had decided to visit her sister, Junko Enoshima. Surprisingly enough however, Junko had also been invited to this place… as the Ultimate Fashionista. Thinking back on it now, Ikusaba supposed that it made sense. Even when she was living in a constant battlefield at Fenrir, she had seen her sister appear from time to time. Her magazines seemed to be everywhere, somehow.

"Come onnnn sis!" Junko whines. "We're going to be too late!"

Ikusaba stares at her with mild surprise. Didn't you want to be fashionably late?"

Junko scoffs and rolls her eyes. "Yeah, but if we're too late, then we won't be fashionably late! We will just be late! God, just hurry up already!"

"Y-Yes Junko." Ikusaba lifts up a bunch of luggage - most of which belonged to Junko, and started towards the entrance. Even though she was carrying probably hundreds of sets of clothing, she was able to lift it all with little trouble, being the Ultimate Soldier and all.

While Junko had mainly packed cosmetic things such as makeup and clothes, Ikusaba opted to bring more… practical things. Things like various types of knives and guns, belts of grenades, bulletproof vests, thousands of bullet cases, and she had even ended up bringing a harpoon.

A fucking **harpoon.**

Before the entrance ceremony begins, they were to check out their assigned dorm dooms and get acquainted with their classmates. While Junko wanted to 'scout out' the other students, Ikusaba had little interest.

It's always the same thing anyways.

Whenever Ikusaba met someone knew, they always acted wary of her. Who could blame them? Ikusaba could probably think of thousands of ways to kill a person with her bare hands. It didn't help that she gave off a very cold aura either. Even those who try to be more understanding towards her eventually drift away. Ikusaba had little experience with social interactions after all. She couldn't hold a decent conversation even if her life depended on it (luckily, it never did).

She had no expectations of making any new friends while she was here and to be honest, she was fine with that. Junko was all she needed. Junko was the only one she loved and Junko was the only one who loved her .

* * *

Ikusaba looks around the gym - only two people really caught her attention.

One was a giant muscular girl. She was wearing a sailor uniform and had strands of long white hair. Obviously, she could pose a potential threat. According to some conversations she overheard, she was supposed to be the Ultimate Martial Artist. While Ikusaba had experience in hand to hand combat, she was more used to wielding weapons. This wasn't to say that Ikusaba was defenseless without a weapon - she had beaten men twice her size before. But against the Ultimate Martial Artist… well, she would probably have some trouble.

I should carry a backup knife in case I get disarmed.

The second person was also a girl - a small one with long dark purple hair, tied into braids. She was very obviously uncomfortable, surrounded by so many people. She was biting her nails and was looking around frantically. Her eyes glared at everyone who came near her through her round glasses. While physically, she seemed to not be a threat, Ikusaba couldn't help but feel a more sinister aura to her. She couldn't exactly place her finger on it, but whenever she looked at her, every instinct in her body screamed to be cautious.

Junko had separated herself from Ikusaba at the moment.

"I can't have you following me around like a lost puppy right now! I need to make a good first impression! If they saw your ugly face around me, their impressions would definitely be soured."

And so, she had left her behind to talk to everyone. As she had no real intentions of introducing herself, she just awkwardly stood near the corner, observing the room for any potential threats. Thankfully, she was mostly left alone. A couple of students tried to approach her, but her cold glare steered most of them away.

It wasn't really like she was purposefully driving them away though - it was just that she looked like she was glaring because she was analyzing each student. She couldn't forgive herself if someone were to happen to Junko. She needed to be able to protect her from any and all danger.

Eventually though, she came across one person who didn't back down from her glare. Instead, he approached her with a bright face. This person was an average looking boy. He was rather short and sported a green hoodie. The most prominent characteristic of him was an ahoge sticking up from the middle of his brown hair.

"Hey! I'm Makoto Naegi." He stretches his hand towards her, initiating a handshake.

"Mukuro Ikusaba/" Ikusaba didn't make any motion to take his hand.

"Nice to meet you!" Unperturbed, he takes his hand back. "I was invited here as the Ultimate Luckster."

Laughing awkwardly, he scratches the back of his head. "Not really much of a talent, but I'm still grateful to be here!"

"..."

"So, what's your talent?"

Here it is. The turning point where nearly everyone started avoiding her. Whenever she mentioned that she was a soldier, a killer, most people became wary of her.

"I'm the Ultimate Soldier."

Instead of backing away however, Naegi's eyes just light up. "THe Ultimate Soldier? That's pretty cool!"

Ikusaba blinks sluggishly. "Cool?"

"Yeah. Well, it was nice meeting you, Ikusaba!" At that, Naegi's face breaks into a bright smile.

"?!"

"I hope that we can get along this year!"

For some reason, Ikusaba's face immdiately turns beet red. Did this boy just… smile at her? Her, a stone cold killer who has been in several wars and could probably kill this guy in less then 10 seconds.

Despite all of that, Naegi had genuinely smiled at her. She had no idea how to respond to this.

"Ah… I-I hope that w-we can get along too." Ikusaba looks away. Why the hell was her face getting so red?

Did I just stammer? What's happening to me?

Naegi simply nods, oblivious to her thoughts and walks away to talk to the others, waving as he leaves. Even while walking away, that smile was still plastered onto his face.

…

I guess I need to be cautious of 3 people now.

* * *

It was the first day of classes. Their teacher, Kolkichi Kizakura, sits in his chair lazying about. He held a silver canteen in his hands and had his feet propped up onto his desk. On top of his messy blonde hair, a white fedora sat snugly.

"Alright, alright… So, I guess everyone's here. You guys h-"

"For a teacher to bring alcohol into a classroom… THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE IN A SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT!" Ishimaru loudly interrupts.

"Oh, it's just apple juice." Kizakura winks at him. "Anyway, you guys have already talked to each other in the gym, but for some reason you still gotta do introductions."

"For some reason?" Kuwata raises his eyebrows. "Aren't you supposed to be the teacher here?"

Kizakura shrugs. "I don't come up with this stuff. I'm just the messenger."

"What a shitty teacher." Owada mutters.

"Settle down." Kizakura sighs and waves his canteen around. "So, I'm just gonna call out all of your names. Then you just stand up and introduce yourself. Easy enough?"

…

"I'll take that as a yes. First up, Makoto Naegi."

At the mention of his name, Ikusaba stiffens slightly. For the whole morning, her mind had been stuck on him. This has never happened to her before. She could barely concentrate on anything…

Quickly, Naegi stands up. "Hey, I'm Makoto Naegi. I was invited as the Ultimate Luckster, though honestly, my luck is actually pretty bad most of the time."

After that, the other students introduce themselves one by one.

"Greetings! I am Kiyotaka Ishimaru, but please call me Taka! I am the Ultimate Moral Compass and I look forward to guiding all of us to a brighter educational future!"

"Kyoko Kirigiri, Ultimate Detective."

"I am Sakura Ogami, the Ultimate Martial Artist. Pleased to meet your acquaintance."

"Mondo Owada, Ultimate Bike Gang Leader. What a fuckin waste of time. I told this to everyone already."

"Hey hey! Junko Enoshima, Ultimate Fashionista! Charmed, I'm sure."

"Yo! I'm Yasohiro Hagakure, the Ultimate Clairvoyant! If any of you want your fortunes told, hit me up!"

"I-I'm Chihiro Fujisaki, the Ultimate Programmer."

"I am Celestia Ludenberg, the Ultimate Gambler. Feel free to call me Celeste."

"Yom I'm Leon Kuwata! I'm the Ultimate Baseball Star, but I'm gonna be the Ultimate Musician, just you watch!"

"T-Toko Fukawa… I-I'm the Ultimate Writing Prodigy…"

"I am Hifumi Yamada, the Ultimate Otaku… But feel free to call me by my true name, The Alpha and the Omega!"

"I am Byakuya Togami, the Ultimate Heir."

"Hi! I'm Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Pop Idol! Pleased to meet all of you!"

"Hello! I'm Aoi Asahina, but you can call me Hina. I'm the Ultimate Swimming Pro and I really like exercising and donuts!"

Finally, Ikusaba was called up. Most of the students here actually didn't talk to her at all. Only a couple of people, Like Naegi, even knew her name. So everyone actually paid some sort of attention to her introduction.

"I'm the Ultimate Soldier, Mukuro Ikusaba."

…

"Lame!" Junko shouts, breaking the silence. "Come on sis! Put a little more flair into it!"

"Woah, a soldier? So you kill people and stuff?" Hagakure asks bluntly.

"Hagakure!" Asahina scolds. "Don't be so insensitive!"

"Wait a sec." Kuwata puts her finger up. "Junko is your sister?"

It was a reasonable question. The two girls looked pretty much nothing alike. Junko was bright and held a large presence. Her large strawberry blonde hair and dramatic personality attracted the attention of nearly everyone in the room.

On the flip side, Ikusaba was completely plain in comparison. She had simple black hair in a bobbed hair cut and was fairly quiet. She only spoke when prompted and commanded much less attention.

"Yup! We're twins!" Junko hops up and stands next to Ikusaba, putting an arm around her shoulder. "Pretty surprising, huh?"

"Twins?" Owada questions. "But you two look nothing alike."

"Well, my sister is super plain and ugly." Junko snickers, jabbing at Ikusaba with her shoulder. "Isn't that right?"

"Yes, Junko." Ikusaba responds automatically. Whenever Junko insulted her, she pretty much just went along with it.

"... Why did you agree to that?" asahina stares at Ikusaba strangely.

"Well duh!" Junko exclaims. "Cuz it's true! She's got a trash face!"

"You shouldn't say those type of things to your own sister!" Naegi interjects. For some reason, seeing this scene really rubbed him the wrong way. Of course, he didn't like seeing someone get bullied like this in any situation, but this seemed worse. Probably because they were supposed to be family… and Junko was just insulting her, unprompted! It didn't seem like regular teasing either.

Junko blinks. "Huh?"

"I don't think you should be insulting your own sister like that. "It's just rude!"

"Chill out ahoge boy."

"Ahoge boy?"

"Calm down, the lot of you." Kizakura sighs. "The introductions are done and over with, so you guys can do whatever, but keep it down yeah? You're givin me a migraine."

Relculantly, both Naegi and Junko drop their argument, leaving a bewildered Ikusaba in their wake. Why was Naegi arguing with Junko? She had just described her to the class… it wasn't as if Junko had insulted Naegi or anything.

Later, after class ended, she decided to approach him to find his motives. When she walked up to him, for a moment they just stood there awkwardly.

…

"... Why?" Ikusaba asks, finally breaking the silence.

Naegi scratches his head, confused. "Why what?"

"Why did you argue with my sister?"

Naegi's face lights up as he realizes what she was talking about. "Oh, t just felt wrong, seeing you get insulted like that."

"Insulted?"

"Well, she called you plain and ugly! Siblings shouldn't bad-mouth each other."

"...?" Ikusaba could only stare at him with a confused expression. Ever since she had come back from Fenrir to be with Junko, she had said those types of things to her on a daily basis. She didn't really mind - in fact, she actually cherished the attention. But Naegi was saying that this was bad? "But it wasn't as if Junko was lying."

"Huh?"

"Compared to my sister, I really am quite ugly. I know this so-"

"No, that's wrong!" Naegi shouts. He had taken a dramatic stance and was pointing at Ikusaba for some reason.

"You aren't ugly at all! Inf act, you are just as pretty as your sister! In fact, you look even better than her! So don't beat yourself down like that!"

Ikusaba's face pales considerably. "Pretty?"

…

"Ah!" Naegi takes a step back. "I mean… that is to say…"

Sighing, the luckster sighs and puts his hands in his pockets. "Anyway… I just said those things to Junko without really thinking."

"I-Is that so?" For the second time today, Ikusaba begins to stutter. She was beginning to get tired of her own reactions. Ever since the gym, she had been thinking about Naegi. He was the only one besides Junko who had made her feel different… and she had no idea why.

"Yeah."

…

An awkward silence fills the room as the conversation quickly dies. This wasn't anything new to Ikusaba - she was always terrible at holding conversation. But for some reason, the atmosphere felt extremely dense this time.

Surprisingly, it was Ikusaba who decided to break the silence. "Anyway, that was all I wanted to talk to you about. So… I'll be taking my leave now."

As Ikusaba turns around, Naegi suddenly calls out to her - "Wait!"

She turns back with a questioning look. Naegi seemed to want to say something, but was clearly hesitant.

"Do…"

"?"

"Do you want to hang out somewhere together?" He finally asks.

He… asked her to hang out somewhere? Classes had ended, so they were free to go out… but she usually spent all of her free time with Junko.

While she was pondering this, Naegi continues.

"We're friends, right?" And friends usually have fun together… plus, I want to get to know you better."

Friends?

She had never even thought about having a friend in her entire life. Of course, Junko was the closest thing she had to a friend. But it was now the first day of school and someone was already calling themselves her friend.

What's with this kid? Well, I guess that this could provide some information…

Admittedly, Ikusaba was curious about what friends do together.

"Okay… I'll go with you."


	2. Chapter 2

"You're WHAT?!"

Junko stares at Ikusaba with apparent disgust plastered onto her face. She had told her sister that she was going to walk around town with Naegi and as expected, she flipped out. After Ikusaba ahd accepted Naegi's suggestion, she had gone to her dorms to prepare and on the way, she had decided to tell Junko about it.

"Oh. My. GOD!" Junko points rudely at Ikusaba's face. "You're already getting a boyfriend on the first day of school?! With that hideous look?!"

"N-Naegi isn't my boyfriend!" Ikusaba protests. The concept of having a boyfriend repulsed her. Being forced to spend an endless amount of time with another person, being forced to worry and care for them… it sounded like a pain. It was hard enough to protect herself and Junko, having a boyfriend would just complicate things. Still though, she couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of pleasure from imagining with Naegi… being with him for the rest of her life…

_NO! STOP THINKING ABOUT THIS._

Ever since Naegi smiled at her, he ended up being stuck in the back of her mind. It was getting very annoying.

"Ugh. Fine, go spend time with your boyfriend. I'll just Despair all alone in my room." She pouts as she flops down on her bed.

"You can come with me, Junko…"

"Ew! I'm not into threesomes." She shakes her head frantically. "Go by yourself."

With Junko's permission, she swiftly walks out of Junko's dorm and into her own. She had no idea what to bring… maybe just one pistol would suffice. Though she should also bring her favorite combat knife, and some medical supplies.

Just in case.

* * *

As Ikusaba walks out of the school, she sees Naegi waiting for her next to the gates. She had promised to be quick, but ended up making him wait for 15 minutes.

"I apologize for making you wait…" She mutters as she walks up to him.

Whenever Junko had been even a single minute late for an appointment, Junko always tore into her… But instead of doing that, Naegi just smiled brightly.

"It's alright! Are you ready to go now?"

Ikusaba nods.

"Okay!" Naegi says cheerfully. He nods towards the sidewalk. "Should we get going then? We can talk while we walk."

"I'm not a good talker." Ikusaba says. It was true. Even in interrogations, she couldn't get anything out of prisoners. In fact, hse would much rather be the one interrogated rather then be the interrogator herself.

Naegi laughs awkwardly. "Well, I'm not that good at talking either. But we can both try our best, right?"

"Right…"

At that, the two begin walking towards the main part of town. Ikusaba didn't really know where they were going to go, but…

_I guess I can go wherever anyway._

"So, Ikusaba. What do you like to do?"

"Hm?" Ikusaba blinks owlishly.

Naegi tilts his head slightly. "Well, what do you do in your free time? You know, like hobbies and stuff."

To be honest, she never really had that much free time ever since she joined Fenrir. She was always doing something . Whenever she wasn't fighting, she was doing scouting missions, writing up reports, doing maintenance, helping with first aid… Even when she moved back to Japan to go to Hope's Peak, she didn't find herself doing much of anything. She mainly just tailed Junko.

"I… don't know." She admits.

"Huh? You don't?" Naegi asks in confusion. What do you mean?"

"I've never really done anything besides spend time with Junko, or do chores."

"Ah." Naegi taps his chin thoughtfully. "Well then, first order of business is to find a hobby for you!"

"Eh?"

"Let's find something that you can enjoy! There's a lot of stores around, so I'm sure we can find something that suits you."

First, Naegi had roped her into spending the afternoon with him… Now, he was going to find her a hobby? And she was letting him do all of this willingly. She had even sacrificed spending time with Junko for this.

_What am I getting myself into…?_

* * *

"Alright!" Naegi says cheerfully. "Since you're a soldier, do you think that you would like shooter games?"

They had stopped by an arcade and were browsing the games that you could play, when Naegi started gravitating to a large game booth. It was one of those zombie shooter games, where you used a giant plastic gun to shoot at stuff on the screen and had to spend coins to revive yourself.

"Shooter games?" Ikusaba echoes. While she was very comfortable in the field of battle, it wasn't as if she actively enjoyed going around, killing people. But she knew that some people played games like these for fun, so perhaps it was different from the real thing.

"Yeah! Wanna give this one a try?" Naegi holds up two quarters. "If you don't like it, we can move on."

Ikusaba shrugs as she goes into the booth. There wasn't anything to lose anyway. As Naegi starts to insert the quarters, Ikusabaa hefts up the plastic gun but severely overestimates the weight. She was too used to the regular weight of regular guns so she ends up slamming the tip of the gun onto the roof of the booth, causing Naegi to jump up. At the same time, he drops his coins on the floor.

"Ah, shoot." Naegi mutters. He looks around on the floor, but as coins do when you drop them, they seemed to have vanished into the fourth dimension.

"Sorry…" Though the whole situation was just a minor inconvenience at worst, she immediately feels a heavy sense of guilt as she looks at Naegi crawl around on the floor.

"It's not your fault!" Naegi protests as he stands up and brushes himself off. As he checks his wallet, his face fall sin disappointment. "Dang, I don't have any more change."

Silently, she takes her own wallet and brings two quarters out, handing them to Naegi.

"Oh, I can't take your money!" He waves his hands in protest.

"Just take them. I caused you to drop the quarters anyway, so this makes it even."

"... I suppose that's fair." He reluctantly takes the two quarters from her hand and inserts them carefully into the machine. As he took them, Ikusaba couldn't help but notice how both of their hands made physical contact. Though it was only for a fleeting moment, she became painfully aware of how warm his hand felt.

Instantly, her face erupts into a blush. Why was she thinking about that stuff?!

"There we go." Naegi glances at Ikusaba. "Huh? Are you feeling okay? Your face is really red."

"U-I'm fine!" Ikusaba says, frantically avoiding eye contact. "Let's just start the game already."

But then, she feels a hand being placed on her forehead.

"Ah, your forehead feels pretty hot… Do you have a fever?" Makoto asks worriedly.

As she realizes what was happening, her face somehow become seven redder. Was Naegi doing this on purpose or something? Suddenly, every single detail becomes noticeable to Ikusaba. She could clearly hear the breaths of both herself and Naegi. She was completely aware of how warm his hands felt, and how his eyes were so soft and concerned. She could count every individual hair making up his ahoge. Roughly 442, give or take. This was a sensation that she was familiar with. Whenever she ended up in the middle of a dangerous warzone, it seemed as if everything went into slow motion. She felt like she could do literally anything and her reflexes becomes near superhuman. However, this happened rarely and only really occurred in extremely dangerous situations.

_So why is this happening to me now?_

"I'm fine!" Ikusaba repeats. "Don't worry about me, okay?"

Naegi frowns but he takes his hands away without further protest. "Alright… But if you really do have a fever, you should rest.

Ikusaba nods and without further delay, they finally begin their game.

Unsurprisingly, Ikusaba did extremely well. Though she had to adjust to the fact that their guns had zero recoil and no weight, her quick reflexes and precise aiming did quick work of the zombies on screen. She was doing so well that Naegi had trouble even getting a single kill. She just ended up stealing all of them. In record breaking time, they beat the entire game in 10 minutes. Of course, they also get the high score. Despite this however, no tickets pop out of the machine - it was one of _those_ games.

"Wow." Naegi slowly puts his gun back into the holster. "You really are the Ultimate Soldier."

Ikusaba raises a brow. "Did you doubt me?"

"Oh, not at all!" Naegi frantically waves his hands. "It's just that.. Well…"

As Naegi fumbles around for an excuse, Ikusaba decides to take pity on him. "I'm just joking. Don't worry about it."

The luckster coughs into his fist. "R-Right… Anyway, did you like the game?"

Ikusaba looks back at the plastic guns as she thinks. It wasn't like it was bad or anything, but it just seemed pointless. She just breezed through all of the levels like it was nothing and consequently, she couldn't help but feel a bit bored.

"I don't think that these kinds of games are right for me." She finally says.

"Ah." Naegi bites his lip in disappointment. "Well, do you want to go somewhere else then?"

She glances around the arcade, Scanning the room, her eyes finally rest upon a digital 'spin the wheel' game.

"You saw how I can use my talent in a game…" Ikusaba starts. "So why don't you show me your talent as the Ultimate Lucky Student?"

"Oh?" Naegi follows Ikusaba's gaze. "Well, my luck is more bad than good most of the time, but I can give it a shot."

Walking over to the wheel game, Ikusaba hands Naegi another quarter. There were 9 different sections the wheel could land in - two sections gave ten tickets, two sections gave fifty tickets, two sections gave a hundred tickets, two sections gave a thousand tickets, and one section could give a million tickets. The more tickets each section gave, the smaller it was. This meant that the ninth section was incredibly small - almost too small to even notice at first.

But surprisingly enough, (or not) Naegi lands on the ninth section on his first try.

*DING DING DING*

Bell sounds emanate from the machine as both Naegi and Ikusaba stare at it in shock.

Wow, Ikusaba thinks. Naegi really is lucky.

Meanwhile, Naegi braces himself for an onslaught of tickets from the machine, when..

*BZZT*

A buzzing sound is made and only one ticket comes out. However, it was clearly different from the normal tickets. It was golden and the words on it were written in cursive writing. As Naegi picked it up, he noticed that the number 1,000,000 was written on it.

"Huh. I guess this thing is worth a million tickets. I still can't believe I actually won it though!" Naegi says. "Well, you wanna see what we can get with this?"

Ikusaba nods her head. Apparently, this arcade gave out prizes in exchange for tickets. Most of the prizes however were incredibly tacky and cheap, while still costing an outrageous amount of tickets.

As Naegi shows the cashier their golden ticket, he whistles, impressed.

"Wow, I've been working here for 3 years and I've never seen anyone get this before. You must be a lucky kid."

"Heh." Naegi laughs bashedly. "I guess so."

"So, what do you want?"

Naegi looks over the prize counter. Most of the things there weren't very interesting - plastic balls, cheap toys, pieces of candy, mugs, pencils… but those things were the cheaper stuff. On the top shelves, there were three things that cost one million tickets each - a video game console, a sleek laptop, and a necklace. Unlike the other jewelry on display, which were clearly made out of plastic and were cheaply made, the necklace seemed incredibly well crafted, reflecting the light of the room beautifully. The jewel of the necklace was a beautiful shade of red. Though it was modest in size, there was nothing lacking in its appearance.

Hmmm… Naegi thinks to himself, glancing over at Ikusaba. Maybe I should…

He points to the necklace. "That one, please."

"Sure thing." The cashier nods, reaching up to grab the necklace. He gives it to Naegi, who turns around and gives it to Ikusaba.

"Here. For you."

Ikusaba could only stare down at the gift, eyes wide. While she had never worn jewelry, (it got in the way while fighting) even she had to admit that the necklace was quite alluring.

"Me?!" She finally manages to choke out.

Naegi nods, smiling softly. "Yeah. Do you want it?"

Cheeks red, she tenderly takes the necklace from Naegi before putting it on. The silver metal felt cold against her skin, but she didn't mind. Since she was no longer in Fenrir, perhaps she could afford to wear more cosmetic items like these… especially if it was Naegi who gave it to her.

"You two make a great couple, you know that?" The cashier nods approvingly.

"Ah! N-No!" Naegi blushes, shaking his head. "We're just friends."

Ikusaba frantically nods in agreement.

"Oh? Shame, you two seem perfect for each other. Well, have a good day!"

"Yeah." Naegi looks at Ikusaba, still blushing. "Should we go?"

"Sure… Let's go."

* * *

In the end, Naegi couldn't find anything that interested Ikusaba. He tried video games, sports, books… all of the usual stuff. But ikusaba didn't find much enjoyment in any activity.

However, Ikusaba was having fun… she was having fun just walking around and talking to Naegi. She didn't know why though. Whenever she looked at Naegi, or whenever she talked with im, she felt a bubbling sensation in her chest.

This was all very frustrating to Ikusaba. She had never had any trouble with her emotions before, so why were they going wild now? It wasn't as if Naegi was anything special (as he so aptly described himself, he was just an average guy).

Despite this, he never failed to transform her from a cold soldier, into a stuttering mess.

"Well, I had fun today Ikusaba." As they walk out of a tennis court, (they had just finished playing a few rounds of tennis - despite it being her first time playing, she completely destroyed Naegi) he turns and smiles at her. "I'm sorry that you couldn't find anything fun to do though."

"It's fine." Ikusaba glances up at the sky. Dark clouds decorated the orange sky - they had spent several hours together and it was nearly night. "I think I should hurry. Junko might get mad at me if I return late."

"Alright, I'll get going too. I don't want to worry my parents."

Before walking away, Naegi gives her one more smile.

"See you tomorrow!"

* * *

"Sooooo, how was your little date?" Junko asks teasingly.

Ikusaba had only just opened the door to Junko's dorm when she launched this question at her. They had both decided to primarily stay in their school dorms as they didn't have a family or anything to go home to."

"It wasn't a date Junko."

"Bull fucking shit!" Junko rolls her eyes and puts her arm over Ikusaba's shoulders. "Come onnn, did he kiss you? Didja go on a romantic boat ride? Didja eat at a fancy french restaurant?"

At each question, Ikusaba's face flushes more and more. "N-No! We just walked around and checked out some places."

Junko moves away from Ikusaba." "Booooorrrrrinnnnggg!"

"Sorry…"

Sighing, the fashionista falls down on her bed, spread eagled. "Well, I approve of him. So I give you full permission to marry him or whatever. Unless you guys are already married?"

"Huh"

She points at the necklace. "Did he propose to you on a first date? Gotta say, that takes a lot of guts."

"N-No! That's… W-We're not…" Ikusaba backs up, stammering all the while.

"Ugh, you're so slow!" Junko groans dramatically. "How could anyone want to be your boyfriend?! Frankly, I'm surprised he even noticed you."

"Junko…"

"Nuh uh, I've had it!" Junko points sharply at the door. "Go to your room! I'm doing some stuff and I would concentrate better without your ugly face in here."

Silently, Ikusaba retreats from her dorm, gently closing the door behind her.

_"So I give you full permission to marry him or whatever."_

Marriage. That seemed like an even worse concept then having a boyfriend. Not only do you have to spend the rest of your life with some person, but you were contractually obliged to do so.

_No, I don't think I will marry anyone._

And yet… she couldn't help but envision marrying Naegi. They would have a regular life, one without any killing or war… Maybe they would have a kid, one who had dark hair and freckles like her but with a cute ahoge like Nae-

_STOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOP_

Was going out with Naegi a mistake? Now, she would definitely not be bale to get him out of her mind.

Shaking her head, she mootly goes inside of her dorm and collapses onto the bed, not even bothering to change her clothes. As she closes her eyes, she grasps the necklace that Naegi gave to her, feeling the smooth surface of the ruby.

_What am I going to do?_


	3. Chapter 3

A couple of days had passed since Ikusaba and Naegi had their 'date'. Since then, they had talked regularly almost every single day. They hadn't hung out outside of school again, but they always sat next to each other during lunch. On top of that, Ikusaba was seated directly behind Naegi during class. Of course, this didn't go unnoticed by Junko. She had taken to almost constantly teasing both of them at every single possible opportunity. Specifically, she always tried to make Naegi flustered with her remarks.

"Heyyyyy Naegi!" Junko takes a seat across from Ikusaba and Naegin in the dining hall. "Can I ask you a question?"

Naegi looks up from his food, giving her a questioning glance.

"What cup size is Ikusaba? I haven;t measured her yet and I wanted to buy her a new bra."

Instantly, Naegi doubles over, choking on his food. "Ack! W-What?!"

Meanwhile, Ikusaba's face turns as white as a sheet. She was used to Junko teasing her at this point, but seriously?

"Huh?" Junko looks at him innocently. "Is there something wrong?"

"Yeah there's something wrong! Why in the world would I know that?!" Naegi asks incredulously. "Besides, Ikusaba is right here. Can't you ask her?"

"But I want to buy her a gift as a surprise gift!"

"She isn't deaf you know."

…

"Ah, guess you're right." Junko shrugs nonchalantly. "Oh well, see ya!"

And just as quickly as she cam, Junko leaves.

This kind of stuff happened frequently during the school days. Soon enough, Naegi and Ikusaba became used to it. They simply brushed off her remarks, not giving her any reactions. Eventually, Junko got bored of teasing them… which was a good thing, because there was certainly a lot of material to work with.

For starters, Ikusaba had become a sort of bodyguard for Naegi. His bad luck got him stuck in several bad situations where he could of ended up getting injured. But every time one of these situations popped up, Ikusaba was there to protect him. Whether it was some random projectile being shot directly at Naegi's face or almost being run over by a stray vehicle, Ikusaba was there to save him.

One day, Naegi got caught in a more extreme situation.

"What's going on here?" Naegi looks at Hagakure, the Ultimate Clairvoyant who was face to face with some shady looking people. "Who are those guys?"

"Don't worry dude! It's all gonna be fine!" Contrary to his words, Hagakure was sweating at an absurd rate, soaking his shirt. "A-ANyway! This is the guy I talked to you about! He should be fine, yeah?"

One of the people steps forward - a tall muscular man with a dark jacket on. As Naegi looks closer, he realizes that he was holding a knife in his hands.

"Hey! What is this?" Naegi backs up nervously. Hagakure had asked him to meet up in this alleyway because he needed help with something. While it was certainly suspicious to meet up in an alleyway like this, he had gone because he considered himself to be friends with Hagakure. But what kind of help did he need that involved this?!

"Didn't he tell you kid?" The guy roughly reaches out and grabs Naegi's arm. "Well, whatever. Not like you needed to know."

"Hagakure!" Naegi glances over at him with a pleading look. "What's happening?"

"Heheh…" Hagakure scratches his head. "Well, I'm in some serious debt with the Yakuza… so I thought that maybe you wouldn't mind sparing a few organs? If I could sell them, my debt would be paid off, you know?"

Naegi's face instantly pales. "Organs…?"

"Ha!" The person who grabbed Naegi snorts. "Don't worry, we won't take anything vital… unless it looks like it would be in premium quality that is."

Before anyone could say any of them could say another word, all of the men suddenly drop on the floor, save for the one holding Naegi. They had all been rendered unconscious in less than a second and without the chance to even fight back. In the middle of all of the bodies, one person stood…. Ikusaba.

"Ikusaba!" Naegi cries out. "You're here?"

"Stay back!" The man holding Naegi presses a knife up against his throat. "Take one step and I'll slit this guys fuckin throat out."

"..." Ikusaba gives him an icy glare, but didn't move.

"Good, good." The man says in a raspy voice. "Now, whatever weapons you have on, slowly put them on the floor. Now."

Before she could do that however, a resounding smack echoes through the alley.

…

"W… Wha…" The man falls backwards onto the ground, out cold. Behind him, Hagakure was holding a brick and was panting heavily.

"S-Saved ya dude! I totally wasn't planning to abandon you! It was all part of the plan, you see?" Hagakure laughs nervously, smacking Naegi on the back. Hagakure was slower than most of the students at Hope's Peak - even he knew that. But sometimes, his brain worked surprisingly fast. Since that soldier girl showed up, he figured that if she found out that he was baiting Naegi to pay off his debt, he would be in way more trouble. "Oh, Ikusaba! I didn't even see you there. What's up?"

"You tried to kill Naegi." Ikusaba deadpans.

Crap.

"What? N-No!" Hagakure laughs nervously. "I was planning to catch them off guard! It was just that you showed up before I could take them down."

Ikusaba stares at him with a withering glare. If looks could kill, Hagakure would undoubtedly be 6 feet under right now. Every single hair stood up on the back of Hagakure's neck. He was scared of the Yakuza, sure. But not by that much - he knew that they would be lenient towards him until he paid off more of his debt. Plus, it helped that getting accepted into Hope's Peak provided a barrier between him and the Yakuza. But Ikusaba…. Truth be told, she scared him way more then the Kuzuryu clan did. She could kill him easily and was in his class.

And now, that fear is heightened exponentially as he realizes that just tried to harvest her boyfriend's organs right in front of her.

"W-Wait!" Naegi steps in front of Ikusaba, who was slowly approaching Hagakure with murderous intent. "In the end, I didn't get hurt so I think it's okay."

**"What?!" **Both Hagakure and Ikusaba exclaim at the same time.

Ikusaba stares at Naegi incredulously. Despite what just unfolded in front of him, he was still smiling optimistically. "Naegi… Hagakure just tried to get you killed."

Naegi shrugs. "Well, if he tried to resort to that, it must mean that he feels backed into a corner, right? If he is that desperate, then I don't blame him for being hasty. We all make mistakes and it's what we learn from them that counts."

Hagakure could only stare at him, jaw unhinged. He couldn't believe that Naegi was defending him, even after he almost harvested his organs.

"Naegi…" Ikusaba shakes her head. "You're too forgiving."

The luckster grins sheepishly. In his head, he knew that he should be angry at Hagakure but he couldn't bring himself to be upset. Sure, he was a bit disappointed that Hagakure would try to sell him out but he was used to Hagakure's antics at this point. "Well, good thing you were nearby, right? Thanks for saving me… again."

Just like every other time Naegi thanked Ikusaba for saving him, the soldier's face flushes.

"It's nothing."

"Ha! Oh man, Naegs!" Hagakure laughs heartily. "Not only are you dating the Ultimate Soldier, but you can get her embarrassed any time you want! What's your secret?"

Naei furrows his brows. "Why does everyone think we're dating?"

…

"You're uh…" Hagakure coughs into his fist. "You're kidding, right?"

Ever since the first day of school, the two had practically been an established couple. Every partner project, they worked together. Every day at lunch, they sat next to each other. They even hung out outside of school.

Naegi simply shakes his head. "We're just friends."

"Huh." Hagakure says stupidly. He was completely dumbfounded. All this time, those two were just friends? Even though Naegi had gifted her that expensive necklace and everything? He and the other students of Class 78 heard all about it from Junko - Naegi had given her that necklace as a gift. From Hagakure's estimations, that jewel was enough to cover half of his debt.

But they're just friends, apparently…

* * *

It was the first school festival - Ikusaba, along with other students mixed in from the 77th class were taking part in the scavenger hunt. Naturally, Naegi had participated in the hunt as well.

The way the scavenger hunt worked is that some students revived a card that had a description - for example, someone who is taller than you. You then had to find someone that fits that description and run to the finish line with them.

Ikusaba was one of the selected to draw a card.

Someone with an ahoge.

…

Silently, Ikusaba walks over to Naegi and shows him her card.

"... Wow." Naegi says as he reads her card. "There's only like two people here that could fit that description."

"Yeah… so will you run with me?" Ikusaba asks hopefully. Despite there being literally no reason for him to decline, she still couldn't help but feel anxious. Perhaps Naegi would start acting like how Junko would and insult her for even asking?

"Of course!" Naegi nods happily. "I'm sure that you are way faster than me though.."

Obviously, Naegi would never do something like that to her. But she couldn't help but brace herself every time Naegi responded to a question of hers. It was hardwired into her brain that he might respond with some snarky comment or insult. She was always prepared for the possibility that Naegi would stop wanting to be her friend.

The past few months had almost been like a dream to Ikusaba. She had actually managed to make a friend at Hope's Peak despite her expectations. For once in her life, she could rely on someone besides Junko. Being with someone this nice… it caused her to realize that Junko might not have been the best towards her. Of course, she is still extremely loyal towards her sister, but not undyingly so anymore.

In such a short timespan, this average looking boy had changed her so much…. It was unbelievable.

* * *

It was the end of the first semester, and thus the School Festival had begun. Throughout the whole school, various stands and exhibits from the Ultimate Students are set up. Naegi and Ikusaba were about to start visiting the exhibits but then an unexpected third party came to forcefully join them.

"Heyyy!" Junko bounds towards the two, pigtails bouncing. "Let me come with you guys!"

"Oh, Junko!" Naegi raises his hand in a greeting. "You want to join us?"

"Yup yup! I'm going to chaperone you two, so suck it up!" Junko says proudly.

"Chaperone?" Ikusaba asks. "What do you mean?"

Junko gives Naegi a sly wink. "Well, I just want to make sure that you two don't sneak off to a broom closet or something! You guys are still at school you know, don't do anything that Taka would disapprove of!"

…

"Come on, say something!"

…

"Fine…" Junko pouts, "Let's just go already then."

As they walked around the school admiring the various exhibits, Junko leans in and whispers into Ikusaba's ear.

"You should spend more time with me, Muku! It's boring being all alone."

Ikusaba stiffens. She had been neglecting her sister recently, hadn't she? Most of the time she spent with Junko went into spending time with Naegi instead. Slowly, guilt starts clouding her mind. She had abandoned Junko once before…. And now, after returning, she had begun to drift away from her.

I suppose that I should spend more time with Junko…


	4. Chapter 4

In just three days, the final exams at Hope's Peak were going to begin. After that, the first school year for the 78th class will be officially over. The final exam consisted of two parts. The first had each student demonstrate their respective talents to a panel of judges. They would be judged and scored based on how their talent had developed over the year. The second part of the exams were your typical question tests. They would have to write essays and answer multiple choice questions on a wide variety of subjects.

"Man… I can already tell that I'm going to struggle with the exams." Naegi complains, resting his chin on this hands. "How do you even show luck?"

Naegi and Ikusaba were sitting together during lunch when Naegi brought up the topic of their upcoming final exams.

Naturally, Naegi was starting to stress over this. He was more worried than any of the other students for two particular reasons. Firstly, he had no idea how he was supposed to demonstrate his talent. Besides the fact that his luck was actually bad most of the time, he also had no control over it. Plus, luck wasn't something that can be shown easily.

Secondly, he was just an average student. Average looks, average strength, average intellect… the second part of the exam had a lot of tough questions. It would certainly be pretty hard to get through it.

Meanwhile, Ikusaba was a lot more confident. She would just show off her reflexes and precision to the judges and that should be enough to get her through the first parts of exams. She could afford to be flashy with her talent which helped.

Being a soldier, her mind was also naturally accustomed to think quickly and creatively. She knew that there would be some things that she wouldn't know about, but she was excellent at studying. Her concentrated mindset was perfect for absorbing information so he was confident in getting through her exams.

When Naegi had mentioned how he would have a hard time with the tests though, and idea popped into her head.

"Naegi?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you like to go over to my dorm this afternoon?" Ikusaba offers. "I can help you study."

Immediately, Naegi sits up, eyes shining. "Really?! That would be great, Ikusaba!"

At his reaction, Ikusaba couldn't help but give him a soft smile.

The way he reacts to everything… It's just too cute.

As this thought crosses her mind, she starts blushing. This wasn't the time to be thinking about that type of stuff. She shakes her head to clear up her thoughts before focusing her attention at Naegi.

"I'll be sure to help you think of a way to show your talent to the judges as well."

The luckster smiles brightly. "Thanks a bunch! You're really nice, Ikusaba."

Nice? I've killed hundreds, probably thousands of people… and Naegi calls me nice. I really don't deserve Naegi's friendship, do I?

* * *

Later that evening after classes, Naegi shows up at Ikusaba's dorm with his backpack. In it, there were various school supplies - Pencils, pens, highlighters, textbooks, notebooks… all of the usual stuff.

He knocks on her door once and Ikusaba immediately opens the door, as if she were waiting for him right next to her door (which she actually had been).

"Naegi." She gives him a curt nod. "Come in."

Naegi walks into her dorm, curiously looking around. THis was actually his first time going into her dorms and he couldn't help but feel curious. Not only was it the room of a girl, sit was also the room of a soldier… alongside his curiosity, there was also an abundance of anxiety.

As for the room itself, it was almost exactly like what you would expect. The walls were littered with various guns hanging from hooks in neat orderly rows. On her desk, columns upon columns of knives lay in a clean pattern. The bed was plain and only contained a standard blanket and two pillows. All in all, it was much cleaner than his own dorm so he couldn't help but feel impressed.

The rest of her room was very organized with not a single thing laying on the floor. In the middle of the dorm, two small chairs and wide table stood. On one side, three of Ikusaba's notebooks were neatly stacked on top of each other. The other side was empty.

Meanwhile, Ikusaba had noticed that Naegi was examining her room and quickly became self-conscious. She hadn't cleaned her room before Naegi had came - already, she could see a few wrinkles on her blanket that seemed painfully obvious. Plus, one of her assault rifles hung crooked. What if Naegi thinks that she was a slob?

"Sorry if the room seems messy. For some reason, I hadn't thought to tidy up."

Naegi stares at her incredulously. "Are you kidding? This room is way cleaner than mines. I'm impressed, Ikusaba. Your room is really nice."

Tinges of red touches Ikusaba's cheeks as Naegi compliments her. "Thanks…. So, should we get started then?"

Naegi nods in return. As he sits down on the empty chair, he takes out some things from his backpack - a pencil, pen, and a literature book. While his teacher hadn't said anything that would be specifically on the exam, it would be better to go over all of the subjects to be safe. Out of everything, he struggled most with literature so he figures that it would be better tos tart there.

Ikusaba sits down in front of him and opens one of her notebooks. "Alright, let's start by reviewing some texts…"

As she opens her notebook to some poems she had copied down, Naegi moves his chair around so that he was sitting right next to Ikusaba.

"H-Huh?" Her composure completely broken, she looks over at Naegi who was sitting right next to her. "Why did you move?"

Naegi looks at her innocently. "Well, it would be better if we both could read at the same time, right? I hope you aren't too bothered."

Slowly, Ikusaba shakes her head. "N-No… I guess this is fine."

Returning her focus to her notebooks, she clears her throat, "So the imagery here used by Edgar Poe is-"

She abruptly stops as she feels a very warm presence near her neck. Slowly, she turns her head and no more than three inches away from her own face… Naegi was intently staring at her notebook, waiting for her to continue. He was looking over her shoulder, leaning forwards.

He turns his gaze from her notebook to Ikusaba's face. "Um, is something wrong? Why did you stop?"

Ikusaba's face erupts into a giant blush as she looks away from his eyes. "N-Nothing! I-I… th-that is, I…"

Slowly, she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. WHenever she needed to concentrate, this simple trick usually worked out well. SHe never thought that she would be using it outside of Fenrir though. She invited Naegi here to help him with his studies and she couldn't help him at all if she just became a stuttering mess this easily.

She opens her eyes, composure regained. Though red still decorated her cheeks, she had at least stopped stuttering. "I'm fine. Let's continue."

For the next several hours, she helped him review almost every single bit of material that could be on the exam. Math, history, biology, geography, and so on. By the time they had finished it was almost night.

"Whew." As they finally finished, Naegi leans back on his chair. "That was a lot of stuff…"

Ikusaba nods. "It isn't over though. We still need to think about the first part of exams. Plus we're going to be reviewing this again over the next two days until the exams."

Naegi looks down at the floor, silent. His face seemed unnaturally serious.

"Naegi?"

Taking a deep breath, Naegi turns to look face to face with her. "Ikusaba… I really want to thank you for everything you've done for me this year."

"... What?"

"Seriously, I would have been totally lost without you. Not only have you literally saved my life several times, but you were always there to help me with other stuff like class projects. And now, you're even spending your whole evening helping me with my own academic problems. Even out of school, you always hung out with me and… you've been a really good friend Ikusaba. Thank you."

Ikusaba stares at him in shock. This was undoubtedly the nicest thing anyone has ever said to her, ever. Before this, the kindest words she had ever received were begrudging compliments from others in shooting ranges. She had no idea how she should react to this small speech Naegi had dropped on her.

So she decided to be honest.

"I... I don't know what to say."

Naegi smiles softly. "You don't need to say anything. I just wanted to thank you. Now then, do you have any ideas on how I should demonstrate my talent?"

In the end, Ikusaba had provided an idea - Naegi could have the judges deal poker hands to him. If he consistently got good hands, then that should be enough to satisfy them. It wasn't very flash or impressive, but it wasn't as if luck was a thing that could be shown off that much anyway.

But in her mind, she thought up of a lot more ways Naegi could impress the judges. Most of them involved Naegi being put in danger, like playing Russian Roulette though. She would never suggest anything that could get Naegi hurt.

By the time Nagegi had left, it was dark out. Ikusaba wanted him to stay a bit longer but didn't raise any objections when Naegi mentioned that his family may worry about him.

No more than 30 seconds after Naegi leaves, someone knocks on her door.

Who could that be in the middle of the night?

Ikusaba cautiously opened the door and beyond it…

"Ikusaba… naughty, naughty!"

The figure of Junko Enoshima stood. She had a self-satisfied smirk on her face as she enters her room.

"Junko?"

"Do you know what I just saw? I just saw Naegi leave your room. Now, what could you two have been doing together in your dorm?"

Ikusaba sighs. This was going to take some convincing.

* * *

Naegi stares down at an envelope on his desk. In it, the scores of his final exam would be displayed. Before the exams, he felt relatively confident - Ikusaba's tutoring had really helped him out. But now, he felt nothing but anxiety. What if he failed despite everything she had done for him?

'You should open it." Ikusaba's voice flows from behind him.

Speak of the devil…

"Yeah." Licking his dry lips, he picks up the envelope with trembling hands and slowly opens it.

…

Exam 1: 67/100

Exam 2: 80/100

Total Score: 147/200 - 73%

…

"Whew." Naegi sighs and leans back on his chair. "I passed."

"Congratulations." Ikusaba says simply.

"What about you?" Turning around in his chair, he glances at Ikusaba. There was no doubt in his mind that she had passed, but just how well did she do?

Wordlessly, Ikusaba holds up her score card.

…

Exam 1: 98/100

Exam 2: 100/100

Total Score: 198/200 - 99%

…

"Wow…" Naegi gapes, dumbstruck. "Ikusaba, you're amazing!"

"T-Thanks." Ikusaba mutters, face turning red from his praise. Though she was overjoyed to be complemented by Naegi, she still felt sad inside - it was almost the end of the first year so she wouldn't be able to see Naegi. He probably wouldn't want to waste his summer time with her…

Well, at least I can spend time with Junko.

"Oh, Ikusaba! Kuwata, Hagakure, Owada, Maizono and I are all going to vacation at the beach. Do you wanna come with us?"

… Right as she finishes her thought, Naegi just goes ahead and invites her to join this beach trip. Frankly, she should have expected Naegi to do something like this. He was just that kind of person.

"Kuwata, Hagakure, Owada, and Maizono?" Ikusaba echoes. "To the beach…"

"We're going to go in about a week. We already have a hotel selected too!"

…

"Alright." Ikusaba nods firmly. "I'll go with you."


	5. Chapter 5

"Um, Junko?"

"Hmmm?"

"Would you like to go to the beach with me? A couple of other students from class are coming too."

Junko sits up and gives her a smirk. "Let me guess, your boyfriend invited you?"

"Ye-"

"AHA!" Junko points at Ikusaba. "He IS your boyfriend!"

"N-No! He isn't!" Ikusaba's face quickly turns red as she instantly regrets her words.

"Heh, whatever you say!" Junko smiles wryly at her. "Anyway, I'm invited right?"

She felt that she had been neglecting her sister so she had decided to invite Junko to the beach trip. Ikusaba didn't tell Naegi about this yet, but she hoped that he wouldn't have an issue with it.

"Well sis, of course I would like to go! I would be so _bored _if I had to stay here all by myself! Besides, I've been waiting for an opportunity to show off my beach bod! Maybe I can steal Naegi from you!" With a wink, Junko immediately starts packing. "So when are we leaving?"

"In a week."

"Okay okay okay!" Junko energetically skips around the room, grabbing random objects and shoving them into her suitcase.

Ikusaba was anxious. SHe had been anxious ever since she had accepted Naegi's beach invitation. She didn't think about it at the time, but if she went to the beach with Naegi then…

_I might see Naegi shirtless._

It wasn't as if she didn't see that stuff all the time though. In Fenrir, she had seen shirtless men all the time, some of them butt naked. She never really care though. But for some reason, the thought of seeing Naegi without a shirt caused her mind to cloud over…

* * *

Naegi sits up in his bed and yawns. Scratching his face, he looks over to his clock - it was early, 7 AM. He was still sleepy but he should start getting ready for the beach trip. He and his friends had agreed to meet at the subway station at 9, so he wouldn't want to be late.

He goes through the usual motions of his morning routine - make breakfast, brush his teeth, take a shower, get dressed. It was like that nearly every single morning and today was no different.

As he picks up his backpack and walks out of his house, he stops abruptly. Right outside of his door, Ikusaba was waiting, posture straight as usual. In her hands she held a duffel bag. It was partially open, so he could see that it was filled to the brim with various weapons… including a large harpoon for some reason.

"I-Ikusaba?!" Naegi stammers. "What are you doing outside of my house?"

"I needed to tell you that I invited Junko along to our trip. I hope that was okay."

"Ah, I see." Naegi nods. "It's no problem. I would be happy if Junko came along with us! But…"

Naegi's expression quickly morphs into one of concern. "Ikusaba, how long have you been waiting out here?"

"Since around five." Ikusaba responds nonchalantly.

Instantly, Naegi's face pales. "F-Five?! Ikusaba, you could have knocked or something. You shouldn't have had to wait outside for two hours!"

Ikusaba firmly shakes her head. "I wouldn't have wanted to wake you up. I'm fine Naegi, really."

Naegi still looked doubtful, but he doesn't press the issue further. "Well, since we're both here, would you like to walk to the subway station together?"

"Of course."

* * *

Naegi, Ikusaba, Junko, Kuwata, Owada, and Maizono.

By the time that the group had arrived at the hotel that they were going to stay at, it was already well into the afternoon. Unfortunately, some of the trains had to be delayed so they had arrived much later than anticipated.

To make matters worse, since it was summer vacation, the hotel was extremely busy. They had to wait a long time in line in order to rent a room and even then…

"So, I talked to the guy at the front desk and it turns out that they only have 3 rooms." Naegi says, holding up three room keys.

"Ah, shit. So we're gonna have to share rooms?" Owada asks.

Naegi nods. "I guess so, yeah. And one of the rooms will have to be shared between three people since we have an uneven amount of people."

"Damn!" Kuwata scowls. "There were so many train delays… We would have gotten more rooms if we arrived earlier."

"Well, nothing we can do about it now. We should discuss our pai-"

"I'll share a room with Naegi." Ikusaba says quickly, face completely red.

This did not go unnoticed by Maizono and Junko. Maizono was directing a withering glare at Ikusaba while Junko was barely holding in a fit of giggles.

"Wh-What?" Naegi stammers. "But wouldn't it be better if we shared rooms with people of the same gender or something?"

_Why did she volunteer so quickly? _The luckster ponders to himself, completely oblivious to her nervous expression.

"If Ikusaba and Naegi are sharing a room, then I'm coming too! That will be our three person room, done deal!" Junko proclaims proudly.

"Um, I wouldn't mind being the third person…" Maizono raises her hand hesitantly.

"Nuh uh!" Junko wags her finger right in front of Maizono's face. "I'm her sister, so I get dibs!"

Owada shakes his head and stares at Naegi in wonder. For the whole school year, he had been trying to get himself a girlfriend but to no avail. And this average looking kid literally gets hot chicks lining up to share a hotel room with him. "How do you do it man?"

Naegi scratches his head. "Do what?"

And of course, he was completely oblivious to all of it. Maybe this was where most of his luck lay - with girls.

"Naegi sure is a womanizer." Hagakure whispers to Owada. "Do you think he has some sort of mind control powers?"

"Don't be an idiot! He's supposed to be super lucky, remember?" Owada hisses back.

In the end, the room assignments were:

Naegi with Junko and Ikusaba.

Hagakure with Kuwata.

Owada with Maizono.

* * *

"We can finally rest…" Naegi stretches his back and he tosses his bag carelessly onto the floor.

The hotel room certainly wasn't luxurious, but it was still suitable. The room was very minimalistic with few decorations on the wall. There was a single king sized bed near the back of the room and right in front of it, a flat screen TV sat. They were on the 5th floor, so they had a nice view of the beach.

To the right of the bed, there was a large pullout couch. To the left, there was a large draw cabinet with a wired telephone and a lamp sitting on top of it. All in all, it was a clean room and enough to satisfy them.

"So, what are we doing first?" In stark contrast to Naegi, Junko was full of energy and was practically hopping up and down. "Let's do something! I'm super bored."

Ikusaba glances outside the window. "It's already pretty late. There were too many delays on our trip."

Out of nowhere, a crown pops up on Junko's head and points dramatically at Ikusaba. "Time does not matter! Come with me, peasants! We're going out!"

Naegi sighs but doesn't argue. He really wanted to rest but…

_I guess if we don't do anything crazy then I'll be fine._

"To me, peasants!" Without looking back to see if they would follow them, Junko marches out of the room.

Reluctantly, Ikusaba and Naegi trails after her. It wouldn't exactly be polite to leave Junko alone after all.

As they go through the hallway, Junko suddenly stops her dramatic march and looks to her right. There was a storage closet there - it was clearly labeled with silver plating. Cautiously, she tests the door knob. It was unlocked.

As Ikusaba and Naegi catches up to Junko, they both stare at her with confusion.

"Junko?" Naegi asks. "Is there something wrong?"

In response, Junko abruptly smashes the heel of her booth next to the door. On her face, a mischievous smile was plastered. "Both of you, stand here! Next to each other!"

"Why?" Naegi gives the fashionista a strange look. She knew that Junko could act… eccentric at times, but this seemed really random.

"Just do it! Pwetty pwease?" Junko asks, morphing her face into an overly cute expression.

Naegi glances at Ikusaba. He thought that perhaps since Ikusaba was her sister, she would have a clue as to what Junko was going on about but she looked as confused as he did.

"... Alright." Ikusaba says, walking over the where Junko had motioned to. Naegi quickly follows suit.

"Okay, now behold!" Junko opens the door to the closet with a dramatic flair. In it, there was a mop as well as some cleaning supplies but other than that, it was completely empty.

The two look into the closet, confusion increasing. What was there to see?

"Have fun you two!"

Before they could react, Junko roughly shoves Ikusaba into the closet. Surprised, Naegi whirls around only to be met with Junko's hands as she shoves him into the closet as well.

"Hey! What are you do-"

_*SLAM*_

Before Naegi could finish his sentence, Junko slams the door shut. He tries to open the door, but Junko must have been blocking it with her body from the other side because it wouldn't budge.

"Junko! Let us out!"

…

No response.

With what little space there was, Naegi manages to turn around and face Ikusaba. The closet was pretty dark so Naegi couldn't see her face clearly but he could make out an outline.

He couldn't see it but Ikusaba had turned completely red and was sweating bullets. Here she was, closed into confined quarters with Naegi. No matter how much she twisted her body, they were always touching. Even through his clothes, she could feel his warmth reaching out to her as if Naegi was a small sun. At the very least, their faces had some space between them - 6 inches, give or take.

"So… um, this is awkward, isn't it?" Naegi comments nervously.

Slowly and deliberately, Ikusaba nods.

"What was Junko thinking, trapping us in here… Well, I hope she lets us out soon." Naegi sighs. Ikusaba was so close to him that she could feel his warm breath brush against her cheek as he does.

_Minty…_

In an attempt to regain her composure, Ikusaba looks up and closes her eyes. There was no reason to panic - why should she be nervous? She was just being pressed up against Naegi… In a small dark closet… That's practically locked from the outside.

Nah, that was plenty reason to be nervous.

She could feel her heart pounding loudly, beating a million miles an hour in her chest. Funny how she was always as calm as a monk when literally fighting for her life in battlefields. But now that she was in this harmless situation, she was completely filled with anxiety.

Unbeknownst to her, Naegi was feeling nervous as well. Just like her, he had a furious blush spread across his face. It was natural, being trapped in a situation like this with a girl.

_Figures that Junko would do something like this…_

Once again, Naegi tries the doorknob.

_*Rattle*_

Nope - still won't open.

"So, Ikusaba."

"Y-Yes?!" She answers quickly.

"Do you want to talk about something? I mean, might as well try to make conversation as we're probably going to be in here for a while."

Casual conversation was currently the thing furthest from Ikusaba's mind. All she could think about was how warm Naegi was. Or how she felt tingling sensations whenever he moved around. Or how if she leaned forwards just a few inches, they would be kissing.

"..." Ikusaba desperately tries to say something - anything, but her brain fails her. It was as if she was completely frozen.

"So much for that then… Sorry." She could see his silhouette drop slightly.

…

"Naegi. Why are you so kind to me?" She asks quietly.

"Huh?"

"You've shown me nothing but kindness ever since the entrance ceremony. Even when you learned that I was a soldier, one that have killed hundreds… why?"

…

Ikusaba starts to regret her words. Why was she saying these things to Naegi? But despite her worries, she continues. "I… don't deserve your kindness."

"No Ikusaba, that's wrong!"

Ikusaba gasps as Naegi objects to her self-deprecation. "Ikusaba, it's _because _you're a soldier that you deserve kindness! Being forced to kill people just to love… I can only imagine how horrible that must have been!"

"But-"

"Ikusaba, don't say something like that ever again. No matter what, I am your friend. And no matter what, you do deserve kindness. Not just from me either - from Junko and our other classmates too."

...

"N-Naegi…Thank you."

She didn't think it was even possible, but she just became even more attracted to Naegi. He was just _so nice_. He seemed to always know what to say...

"It's nothing. What are friends for?"


	6. Chapter 6

In the end, it had only taken ten minutes until Junko got bored and let them out of the closet. Even though so little time had passed, to them, it felt like hours had gone by.

"Sooo, did you guys have fun in there?" Junko asks with a wink.

"Junko… Please don't do that again." Naegi wipes some sweat from his brow. There was actually a vent inside of the room and despite it being summer, the heater was on. That, coupled with the close proximity of the two had caused him to feel a bit light-headed.

Ikusaba had sweat on her forehead as well, though not from the heat. She didn't know how long she could have stayed in there with Naegi before she would be tempted to break the door down.

"Aw, cheer up you two! It isn't as if I trapped the both of you inside of a dark closet or anything."

"That's exactly what you did." Naegi deadpans.

"Oh, guess you're right, my bad!" Though Junko had apologized, it was extremely obvious that she wasn't sorry. In fact, she had a self satisfied smirk on her face. "Anyway, I'm gonna go have fun on the broadway. See you!"

"Wait, Junko!" Ikusaba calls after her. But Junko skips away from them, completely ignoring her calls. Before the two of them could go after her, she rounds a corner and disappears from their view.

"Should we go after her?" Naegi asks with a tinge of worry in his voice. He was upset at Junko for what she did but he was worried that she might get lost or something. It was already dark out, after all.

Ikusaba shakes her head. "Go back to the hotel room. I'll go after her."

She had only taken one look at Naegi's face to come to that decision. The long day had obviously taken quite a toll on him - dark lines stretched below his eyes and his shoulders were sagging. He was visibly exhausted.

Stifling a yawn, Naegi nods wearily and slowly walks back down the hall. "Alright. See you later Ikusaba."

"Yeah."

The moment Naegi leaves her field of view, she bounds down the hallway as fast as she could. Junko may not look like it, but she was actually pretty fast. If she didn't catch up soon, she would lose her.

* * *

"Junko!"

After a few minutes, Ikusaba finally catches sight of her. While running up to her, slight confusion strikes Ikusaba - in the small amount of time she had left her sight, Junko had somehow managed to get a bunch of random objects. She had three cones of ice cream on one hand (all of them strawberry flavored) and a stuffed animal in the other. The stuffed animal was one Ikusaba had seen before - a teddy bear with one side being colored white and bearing a beady eye, and the other being completely black and equipped with a lightning shaped eye, colored an evil shade of red. She had seen the design in some of Junko's notebooks, but she had no idea that it was an actual thing.

On her head, she was wearing a pitch black opera hat. For some reason, the roof of the hat was opened up, apparently damaged. A small ghost figure was hanging off of the hat.

Junko turns around and waves cheerfully at her. "Hey Muku! What's up?"

Ikusaba looks at her in slight awe. "Where did all of this stuff come from?"

"Oh, I just found it." Junko says vaguely. "Want an ice cream?"

"You can keep them. More importantly, where are you heading?"

Instead of responding, Junko dumps the oversized bear on Ikusaba's hands. She then promptly walks away, licking her cones of ice cream.

"Junko?" Ikusaba asks, trailing after her.

"Jeez sis, you really don't remember things well, do you?" Junko sighs and gives her a disappointed look. Immediately, Ikusaba's heart stops. What had she forgotten? Was Junko mad at her?

"W-What?"

"Come onnnn…" Junko drawls. "I told you back at the hotel!"

Suddenly, recollection flashes in Ikusaba's eyes - "_Anyway, I'm gonna go have fun on the broadway. See you!"_

"The broadway…?" Ikusaba asks tentatively.

"Ding ding ding!" Junko shouts, tapping Ikusaba on the head with each 'ding'. "I guess there really is something in that head of yours, eh? Anyway, what do you want? Don't you want to be with your _boyfriend_?"

"Naegi isn't my boyfriend… and Junko, I want to spend time with you too."

"Oh fine, if you insist." Junko smiles and grabs Ikusaba's hand. "Come on then, we're gonna have a girls night out!"

Before Ikusaba could utter another word, Junko runs off, dragging her along.

* * *

"Hey Muku, do you think I can fly? I bet flying would be cool, huh?" Junko bounces up and down on her seat like a child.

For the past few hours, Junko and Ikusaba had been messing around in an amusement park, riding practically every single ride there was. But for every single rollercoaster they went on, their reactions generally stayed the same, regardless of the intensity - Ikusaba just sat there, not moving for the entire ride while Junko shouts in an exaggerated manner and puts her hands up.

After the rides, they decided to try their hands at carnival games. Normally, these are rigged to make the customer lose most of the time. However, within 30 minutes, Junko and Ikusaba managed to clear out the stalls of every single game they visited. Junko's analytical prowess was able to scout out any weakness in the game and Ikusaba's superhuman reflexes and accuracy made good work to exploit them. Their reign of terror was only put to an end after the manager of the park came out and told them they were banned from playing any of the other games.

Though Junko had won probably hundreds of stuffed animals, she just tossed them all out - all of them except for the original monochrome teddy bear that she had dumped on Ikusaba.

Now, they were riding the last ride they hadn't done yet - the Ferris Wheel. It was giant, being 300 feet tall and was painted bright red. The wheel was decorated with blinking yellow lights that flashed attractively in the dark sky. All in all, it was what you would expect from a typical Ferris Wheel.

"Unfortunately Junko, humans can not fly." Ikusaba responds.

"How would _you _know that?" Junko smirks, jumping out of her chair and leaning out of their booth. "Maybe I have wings!"

"Humans don't have wings either." Ikusaba sighs and pulls Junko back into her seat.

"Aw… You're so boring sis!" Junko rolls her eyes. "Anyway, since we're gonna be in this ride for a bit, let's talk."

"Talk?" Ikusaba echoes.

Junko leans forward, peering directly into her eyes. "About your boyfriend, Naegi."

Just as Junko expected, Ikusaba blushes slightly. And just as Junko expected, she responds with "Naegi isn't my boyfriend."

She said the same stuff over and over again. You didn't need to be the Ultimate Analytical Prowess to predict how she was going to react.

"Well, what if he asked you out, hmm?" Junko grins. "Would you say yes?"

"Junko… come on, really?" Ikusaba asks. Uncharacteristically, she said it in a whiny tone. Frankly, it surprised Junko that this ahoge boy could change her sister's behavior so much. Last year, Junko would have never guessed that Ikusaba was even capable of being like this.

_Instead of acting like a complete social outcast, Muku is acting like a complete social outcast that actually has some emotion._

"Well, I guess it's an upgrade." Junko says out loud.

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Answer my question sis! Or else I'll kill Monokuma!" Junko grabs the teddy bear from Ikusaba's hand and holds her nail to his face. "Would you want this cute thing to die?"

"..."

"_Pwease missy!_" Junko mimics a high pitched voice, shaking the bear around as she does so. _"I have so much to live for! Would you go out with him?"_

"... Yes." Ikusaba whispers.

"AHHH!" Junko squeals, putting her hands together. "You're finally being honest with your feelings! Ain't that the cutest thing?"

Ikusaba says nothing, instead opting to stare at the very interesting floor that her feet was resting upon, a furious blush spreading across her face.

"Well sis, that's all I really wanted to hear." Junko pats Ikusaba on the pack reassuringly. "So I'm gonna head back to the hotel room and get my beauty sleep. Later!"

Ikusaba glances up, only to see that Junko had jumped off their booth.

Junko had jumped off their booth.

_Junko had jumped off their booth._

…

"Huh? Junko!" Ikusaba rushes to the side and looks down.

…

"Oh."

Ikusaba had been so distracted by Junko's question that she didn't even notice that they were only 3 feet above the ground. They had very nearly completed their full cycle on the Ferris Wheel.

_You need to be more focused! What if you didn't notice an assassin hiding around?! Stop acting like this! _Ikusaba scolds herself, disappointed by the fact that she was so thoroughly distracted by a simple question. Ever since Naegi had come into her life, it seemed like she was getting distracted more and more.

Glancing down at her cellphone, she notices that it was 30 minutes before midnight - Naegi was probably sleeping at this point.

_I hope Junko doesn't wake him up…_

* * *

As Ikusaba walks into their room, she immediately notices something wrong.

Naegi was nowhere to be found.

The soldier runs into the restroom and looks around - Naegi wasn't here either. As panic starts to slowly seep into her, she goes over to Junko who was lying face down on the bed.

"Junko!" Ikusaba hisses, shaking her awake. "Where's Naegi?"

"Mmmmmph…"

"Junko!"

"Jeez…" Junko pulls herself up, rubbing her eyes. "I dunno, okay?"

"What?! How did you get in the room then?" Naegi had the room key when he went back to the hotel room. She was sure of it. In order to get in, Junko would have had to knocked on the door.

"It was unlocked."

…

_Figures. He forgot to lock the door_.

Grimacing, Ikusaba goes through her duffel bag and pulls two things out. The first was a Barrett M82 .50 Sniper Rifle. It had been customized to include an extremely powerful telescope as well as night vision lens. The second was her harpoon, equipped with 50 ft of rope.

She then opens the window and tosses the harpoon up. It just barely reaches the roof of the hotel. As she pulls herself up, she hears Junko complaining back at the room.

"You know even if it's summer, the wind is still chilly at night!"

Muttering an apology under her breath, she quickens her pace, scrambling up the rope. As she reaches the roof, she puts the lens of her rifle up to her eye and quickly scans the area. Within 5 minutes, she determines that no one matching Naegi's description was within a half mile radius. Neither did she find any suspicious vehicles driving around the streets.

_Okay, so maybe he's still in the hotel._

Of course, it was possible that Naegi was being hidden away in a building, or that he had been kidnapped and dragged out of the area. But Ikusaba refused to acknowledge that possibility.

She swings back through their room window and pulls the harpoon back in. As she shuts he window, she quickly packs her rifle and harpoon back into her duffel bag and replaces them with a serrated combat knife.

With a determined look on her face, she runs out of the room (making sure to softly close the door behind her)

_Naegi… I will find you!_


	7. Chapter 7

Ikusaba starts thoroughly combing the entire hotel. She started with the first floor and slowly made her way up. Obviously, she couldn't check the rooms - it would take way too long and there was no guarantee she would even be answered considering it was so late.

When she reaches the third floor however, she runs into Owada - literally. She had rounded a corner at the exact same time Owada did, causing both of them to crash into each other.

"Shit!" Owada curses as he falls to the ground. At the same time, he drops three unopened soda cans. Before they could roll away, Owada quickly grabs them and puts them into an upright position.

"Oh, Ikusaba? Sorry for running into ya."

Unlike Owada, Ikusaba had managed to keep her balance and had only staggered back a few steps. This was pretty impressive considering it was _Owada _that she crashed into at full speed.

"Owada." Ikusaba pulls him up with a single hand. "Do you know where Naegi is?" She doubted that Owada would know but perhaps he had seen something that could give her a hint.

"Huh? Oh yeah, he's at our room." He replies nonchalantly.

…

"What?" Ikusaba replies, voice deathly quiet. Owada's face pales at this and he quickly backs up. Even though he was way taller than her and was considerably more built, he knew that she could probably beat him up.

"Owada. Why is Naegi in your room?"

"Well, we were having a small party in our room along with Kuwata and Hagakure when Maizono suggested that we invite Naegi over. So y'know… Kuwata went over and brought him back to our room."

"..."

"Hey, Junko was there when we invited him! Didn't she tell you?"

Instead of responding, Ikusaba brushes past him and makes a bee line for their room. For now, she just needs to confirm Naegi's safety.

* * *

_*knock knock knock*_

Kuwata jumps up and heads towards the door. That must have been Owada - he should have brought back some drinks for them. "Jeez, wonder what took him so long?"

"Maybe he got lost." Maizono suggests, shrugging. She was sitting cross legged on the floor across from Naegi who seemed a bit dazed. They were playing Texas Hold Em. Maizono and Naegi were the last ones in. Naegi hadn't really been paying attention but still manged to last due to his luck. Maizono had been able to flawlessly call out bluffs due to her 'esper' powers.

Hagakure, who was messing with his tarot cards, laughs loudly. "I wouldn't put it past the guy! He isn't the sharpest tool in the shed if you know what I mean."

Rolling his eyes at the irony, Kuwata opens the door. "Hey Owa… huh?"

Instead of a giant muscular guy with a pompadour, there was a skinny dark haired girl… Ikusaba.

Before he could say anything, Ikusaba rudely pushes past him and rushes into the room. "Naegi!"

At the sound of his name, Naegi glances up. His tired expression brightens slightly as he sees Ikusaba. "Oh! Ikusaba, what's up? Are you here to join us?"

Ikusaba hesitates. She had just went here to confirm Naegi's safety. There wasn't really any need for her to stay here any longer. But as she takes a second look at Naegi, she realizes how tired he looks.

_I suppose that I should stay with him until they finish up._

Slowly, she nods.

"Well, the more the merrier I guess." Kuwata comes from behind Ikusaba and sits next to Maizono, peeking at her cards.

As soon as he sits, another person comes into the room - Owada. "Yo! I'm back."

"Owada! What took you so long?"

"Cut me some slack man. I ran into Ikusaba - literally." He tosses both Kuwata and Hagakure a soda can before opening one for himself. In one swift movement, he chugs the entire can and lets out a satisfied sigh. "That was good."

Before long, Maizono pumps her fist in the air. "Yes! I beat the Ultimate Lucky Student in poker!"

Ikusaba glances down at their hands. She was right - Naegi and Maizono had both gone all in and Naegi only had a pair while Maizono had a straight. Grinning delightfully, she takes in a bunch of chips from Naegi.

"You brought a poker set?" Ikusaba asks, a brow raised.

Maizono points at the clairvoyant who was currently attempting to do a riffle shuffle with his tarot cards and failing miserably. WHen he noticed that Maizono was pointing at him, he clears his throat and straightens up. "Yeah, I brought the poker set. It's actually pretty heavy you know?"

Still grinning, Maizono puts her hand up. "So since I won, I get to pick the next thing we do, right?"

Kuwata shrugs. "That was the deal, yeah. Try not to make it intense though. I mean, Naegi literally looks like he's about to pass out."

That was true. Not only had Naegi waken up pretty early, but the time it took to travel here had pretty much sapped all of his energy. It didn't exactly help that he had skipped lunch either. And now that it was midnight, Naegi was dangerously close to nodding off.

Sluggishly, Naegi shakes his head. "Nah… I'm fine."

Owada snorts loudly. "No you aren't."

Maizono claps her hands together, silencing the banter. "Truth or dare then! Fast and simple. Since I won, I get to go first."

She glances pointedly at Ikusaba. "You have to play too!"

Ikusaba blinks. "M-Me?" Ikusaba had never played truth or dare before but it seemed like a pretty mortifying game. Being forced to either divulge a secret or being forced to do any action… it sounded evil.

Despite her thinking this, she was still roped into the game. One minute later, she sits in a circle along with everyone else.

For a moment, an awkward silence fills the air as everyone just looks at each other. Then, Maizono looks at Naegi. "Truth or dare?"

"Huh? Oh, truth I guess."

Maizono bites her lip, obviously disappointed. Despite this though, she still manages a cheery tone. "Okay, do you have a crush on anyone here?"

Even though Naegi was exhausted, he still managed a weak blush. "That's not a fair question."

"Just answer it!"

…

"Fine. Yes, I do have a crush on someone here." Naegi says quietly.

At this, both Maizono and Ikusaba tense up considerably. Specifically, Ikusaba's heart rate instantly spikes. She felt even more nervous then when she was trapped in a closet with him. This type of stuff had been happening to her whenever she went near Naegi. Though the nervousness was uncomfortable, it didn't necessarily feel _bad_. However, it was only recently that she realized that this feeling meant that she apparently had a crush on Naegi. Was it possible that Naegi returned this feelings?

_No way… Maizono is a pop idol. Naegi probably likes her._

Meanwhile, Maizono was having similar thoughts. She had been crushing on Naegi ever since junior high and it was only recently that she had the opportunity to get closer to Naegi. But Ikusaba had stolen him or her _on the first day_. To make it even more painful, even she had to admit that they were cute together. But… Naegi had said that they were just friends. So was it possible that he liked her?

_No way… He and Ikusaba are way too close. Naegi probably likes her._

"Wow Maizono! You're going with those questions right off the bat, eh?" Kuwata glances at her, impressed.

"Who is it?" Maizono asks, ignoring Kuwata. "Who is it Naegi?"

"I don't think that I need to tell you." Naegi says, managing a sly smile. "I already answered the question."

"Ah." Maizono scowls down at the floor. "That's true."

"Well, there are only two options right?" Hagakure comments.

"Who knows…" Naegi says. "What if I have a big ol crush on Owada over there?"

"Stop fucking around Naegi." Owada says, rolling his eyes.

"Fine…"

They had decided to take turns by going in a clockwise motion from Maizono, meaning that it was Hagakure's turn. "Alright Kuwata! Truth or dare?"

"Dare!" Kuwata responds instantly.

Grinning, Hagakure points at his half empty soda can. "I dare you to smash that can on your he-"

_*SMASH*_

Before Hagakure could even finish, Kuwata bashes the soda can on his forehead, crushing it completely. Soda splashes all over him, completely drenching his hair and shirt. Despite this, Kuwata didn't seem to mind.

Slowly, Hagakure claps his hands together. "Dude. Gotta say, I'm impressed."

Owada nods approvingly. "No hesitation. THat's a good trait to have in biker gangs you know."

"Jeez!" Maizono scowls at the three of them. "You completely soaked the carpet!"

The clairvoyant shrugs, unconcerned. "It's a hotel! Loosen up. THe maids are paid to clean you know."

"That doesn't mean you should go around making messes just to make their lives harder!"

Kuwata stands up and starts towards the bathroom. THe front of his hair had darkened from the liquid and draped across his forehead. The front of his shirt was also irreversibly stained brown and was already sticking to his chest. "I should probably go wash this off."

"Hey, wait a sec! Do your turn before you do. None of us wants to wait for you." Owada says.

Shrugging, Kuwata turns his attention to Ikusaba. "Hey, truth or dare?"

"Dare." Ikusaba had decided that this was the safer option. What if he asked her if she had a crush on Naegi? That would have been a disaster. Of course, everyone in the room besides Naegi himself knew that she had a crush on him. But Ikusaba didn't know that they knew, so she still remained cautious.

"I dare you to kiss Naegi. On the lips."

…

"YEAH!" Hagakure shouts with a big grin on his face. "Do it Ikusaba!"

Gritting her teeth, Maizono sends the deadliest glare she could muster towards Kuwata. Out of all of the things he could have said, why would he give her _that _dare?!

"W-What?" Ikusaba whispers with a horrified look on her face.

"You heard me. Go on, do it." Kuwata says casually.

As Kuwata confirms his dare, Ikusaba's body seizes with terror. This was probably the most frightened she had ever been in her entire life. She would must rather fight an entire war by herself then do something like kiss Naegi. Not because it would be bad though. In fact, she fantasizes about doing so from time to time. But she might die of a heart attack if she actually did it.

At a painfully slow pace, Ikusaba turns to face Naegi who was sitting at her left.

…

He was fast asleep. His head tilted down and his chin was touching his chest. Naegi's mouth was slightly open and a tiny string of drool was already making its way down his chin. The steady rise and fall of his chest was barely visible as he slept in complete silence.

"Ah…" Ikusaba mutters. "Does this excuse me from the dare?"

"Nope."

Gathering up every single bit of her courage, she begin to slowly lean towards Naegi, heart beating a million miles an hou.. She was utterly convinced that everyone in the room could hear her pounding pulse. In fact, she would be surprised if Naegi didn't wake up from the commotion it must have been making.

But as she inches towards Naegi, something horrifying happened. For whatever reason, his head suddenly tilts towards Ikusaba. Due to the shift of his weight, Naegi falls sideways…

And his head ends up resting on Ikusaba's lap.

At the same time, Ikusaba's pulse reaches her ears. The rushing of blood through her ears was deafening and her vision started to swirl as she started to feel nauseous.

Owada whistles softly, clearly impressed. He wasn't the only one - Hagakure was also nodding approvingly, as if Naegi had just done that of his own will. Ikusaba wanted to slap both of them.

Meanwhile, Kuwata was doubled over, silently laughing his ass off. He was barely keeping this in while observing Ikusaba's reaction but this had pushed him over the edge. Seeing the serious Ikusaba act so flustered just struck him as hilarious.

On the flip side, Maizono was clenching her fists so hard that her knuckles had turned white. If only she had sat next to Naegi.

"No." Ikusaba says, voice trembling. "Y-You know what? I'm not doing it, okay?"

"This is way better anyway!" Hagakure says smugly. "Good luck trying to move around without waking him up!"

"Yeah, good enough." Kuwata, who had finally managed to get a hold of himself, waves his hand. "Now I gotta take a shower to get this shit off of me."

Ikusaba stares down at Naegi who was resting peacefully on her lap. His cheek felt absurdly soft on her leg and with every breath he took, she felt a sharp jolt go through her chest. If this type fo stuff kept happening to her, she figures that she would probably develop heart problems by the age of thirty.

Naegi's slightly opened mouth…

Naegi's fuzzy hair…

Naegi's soft breaths…

He was cute. Too cute. He was almost like a puppy.

_Damn. This means I can't wake him up._

_Which means I can't move._

_Ever._


	8. Chapter 8

Eventually, Ikusaba was forced to move. Owada and Maizono had to sleep in their room and it would have been pretty awkward for Ikusaba and Naegi to just be sitting there in front of their bed. Their room was pretty much identical to Ikusaba's, so Owada was sleeping on the pullout couch while Maizono got the bed (Owada claimed that it would have damaged his man's honor to let a girl sleep on the couch).

Carefully, Ikusaba lifted Naegi's body up in a way where Naegi would barely be moved around. When they were both still on the floor, Naegi was sitting cross legged to her left and had his body leaning towards her with his cheek on her upper thigh. As gently as possible, she removed his head and put him in her arms in a bridal carry. Though she managed to not wake him up, she did illicit a few mumbles.

In order to get back to her own room without waking him up, she moved in an extremely gentle manner. Consequently, she also moved slowly. THankfully there was not that many people out at night so no one saw her carrying an unconscious Naegi around. That may have attracted unnecessary attention.

When she finally goes into their room, (it was kept unlocked) she notices two things.

Firstly, Junko was awake and sitting on the couch. She seemed to be reading four magazines at once, head spinning around as she looks through all of them, pages flipping around madly.

Secondly, there was a plethora of objects scattered across the floor. Things ranging from other magazines to empty bottles of water decorated the ground. For some reason, Junko had seemed to purposefully thrown trash all over the floor.

"Hey sis! How's the damsel in distress doing?" Junko pauses her reading to look up at Ikusaba who was scanning the room in shock.

"Junko… Why didn't you tell me that Makoto was in Owada's room?" Ikusaba asks.

Junko shrugs nonchalantly. "Eh. I didn't feel like saying anything."

Sighing, Ikusaba walks over to the bed and gently tucks Naegi in. She takes one more good look at Naegi's face. He looked so _peaceful _when he was sleeping. Plus, he was super adorable. She felt like she could have stared at him for hours, analyzing every detail present on his face.

As she looks up, Ikusaba notices that Junko was grinning mischievously at her. "You know, I feel kind of bad for lying to you about Naegi. So I thought to myself - what if I did something nice to Ikusaba to make up for it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I will volunteer to sleep on the couch." She gestures to the pullout couch she was sitting on. There was a small blanket and a pillow on it. "Which means you get to sleep on the bed! I know, extremely generous of me. You're welcome."

This only served to confuse Ikusaba further. Sure, it was nice that Junko had volunteered to sleep on the couch (not to mention pretty surprising), but why was she making such a big deal out of it? But then, Ikusaba looks back down at the bed… the bed that Naegi was currently sleeping in. Slowly, understanding dawns upon Ikusaba.

"W-Wait…" Ikusaba stammers, a blush spreading through her face. "Sleep on the bed… with Naegi?"

"Yep!"

Ikusaba shakes her head. "No, I can't do that! I-I mean, Naegi… that is… I'll just sleep on the floor!"

"Oh come on Muku… sleep on the floor with all of that garbage?" Junko points at the mounds of trash she had thrown everywhere. "Don't worry, I'll have it cleaned by tomorrow."

"But…"

Junko groans in frustration before jumping out of the couch. "Come ON! It's not like your gonna fuck him or anything! You're just sleeping next to him. Don't you do this stuff at Funroar or something?"

"Fenrir." Ikusaba corrects. Junko was right though. She had been packed into tents with several other people before, having to sleep in uncomfortable situations. She didn't mind sleeping with other people… but Naegi was different. The thought of sleeping with Naegi only served to make her feel dizzy. Junko had trashed their room and was going to sleep on a couch just so that Ikusaba would sleep with him.

_Why is she so invested in pairing me up with Naegi anyway?!_

Junko had never expressed interest in Ikusaba's private life before…. So why was she doing this?

While lost in thought, Junko had discreetly grabbed a bottle off the floor. She then threw it as fast as she could directly at Ikusaba's head. She had done this type of things many, many times before. Junko had thrown a wide variety of objects at Ikusaba, ranging from pencils to throwing knives. Every single time she did this, Junko had always managed to catch the thrown object flawlessly. She didn't even need to see Junko throwin at her - she just caught whatever it was on pure instinct.

This time however…

_*bonk*_

"Huh?" Ikusaba rubs her head where the bottle had struck her. "Why did you…"

"This is so weird!" Junko exclaims. "You're actually vulnerable now!"

Ikusaba grits her teeth. Junko was right. Her awareness had dulled ever since she had met Naegi. But why? Why was she so vulnerable whenever she was around him?

Rolling her eyes, Junko goes over to Ikusaba and pats her on the back. "Don't worry about it Muku. Just go to sleep. It'll be fine."

"But…"

"Ugh! Stop being so _stubborn!_" As she said the last word, Junko shoves Ikusaba roughly onto the bed. She ended up falling down next to Naegi and in response, Naegi shifts around while muttering something in his sleep.

"Just listen to big sis Junko, kay?" Junko smiles sweetly before turning off the lights.

Ikusaba was actually the older sister but she decided not to correct her - Junko would just get irritated. Besides, she had a much larger issue at hand. And that issue was the fact that she was going to sleep next to Naegi.

As quickly and silently as possible, Ikusaba moves to the other side of the bed, as far away from Naegi as she could. Then, she takes her pillow and puts it between her and Naegi as a makeshift barrier.

_There. That should do it._

Sighing, Ikusaba lies down and stares straight up into the pitch black darkness. Ever since coming to the hotel, it was just one incident after another where Naegi and Ikusaba ended up like this. First, they had to share rooms because of the delays. After that, Junko had forced them into a closet together. Then, Naegi had fallen asleep on her. And now, they were sharing the same bed.

All of it seemed too perfect - too coincidental. Her mind begins to drift to Junko. For whatever reason, she was heavily invested in pairing them together. Was it possible that Junko had somehow set all of this up?

It was possible… Junko could have done something to delay the trains. Easy enough, just mess with the tracks a bit so that they would have to go and repair them. Obviously, Junko had done the closet and bed sharing on purpose so those were a given. And for Naegi to have been so tired for the whole day… did she drug him?

_Of course, it's possible that I'm just being paranoid._

Slowly, Ikusaba closes her eyes and lets drowsiness to start enveloping her mind. She could think about this some more tomorrow. For now, she should just get some rest.

* * *

When Ikusaba wakes up, she immediately notices that something was wrong. It felt like a heavy weight was resting on her arm. This weight was unusually warm and felt strangely pleasant.

_Oh god. Is that…_

Ikusaba snaps her gaze to her left. Sure enough…

Naegi was coddling her arm. His head was resting next to her shoulder and both of his arms were wrapped around her own. It was a scene straight out of some sort of cheesy romance movie (though normally the genders would be reversed). The pillow barrier that she had put up was gone for some reason. Naegi must have moved around in his sleep… and ended up like this.

Quickly scanning the room, she finds the missing pillow. Junko was sleeping on it.

_Figures._

Ikusaba feels her face heat up considerably. Just like when Naegi had fallen asleep on her last night, her heart starts beating faster and faster. Beads of sweat forms on her forehead as she quickly begins to think of a way - any way to get her out of this situation.

Unfortunately, there were only two possible solutions. One, Ikusaba could wake Naegi up. This was out of the question. Ikusaba was not so cold that she would wake Naegi from his peaceful sleep. That only left the second solution… just wait for Naegi to wake up on his own.

And who knew how long he would sleep? He was completely exhausted when he fell asleep last night. He might stay like this for hours. No matter how you looked at it, Ikusaba was trappe-

"Ah… Huh?"

Ikusaba looks back at Naegi. His eyes were wide open as he stares at her incredulously. A blush was already spreading through his face, mirroring Ikusaba.

"I-Ikusaba! W-What is… I'm sorry, I don't know what happened!" Naegi unwraps his arms from Ikusaba and quickly scoots away. "I'm so sorry!"

"Naegi… It isn't your fault." Ikusaba sits up and rubs her arm regretfully. Already, cold had begun to seep in due to the absence of Naegi's warmth. Even though she was a bit worried, she definitely wasn't bothered by it. In fact…

_I wouldn't mind if he fell asleep on me again…_

No! Snap out of it!

"I remember playing truth or dare with the others… but then I just sort of blacked out." Naegi scratches his chin. "What happened?"

As Ikusaba recalls the events of last night, her blush deepens considerably. There was no way she could tell him that he fell asleep on her lap and that she carried him here. That would be too embarrassing.

"You fell asleep on the floor and Owada had to carry you here." Ikusaba lies smoothly. Hopefully he wouldn't ask Owada about this.

Naegi's face flushes. "Ah. How embarrassing. Anyway, why am I… erm… why were we sleeping together?"

"That is… Junko had taken the couch, so…"

"I-I see. Well, I'm sorry for sleeping on your arm."

Ikusaba shakes her head. "Ah, no it's fine. It was actually quite comfortable, so I didn't mind at all."

"Comfortable?" Naegi echoes.

…

"w-Wait, no! It's… I mean… Ugh!" Ikusaba quickly buries her face into her hands, completely horrified. Did she seriously just say that to him? It was at this moment that she felt like she could die of embarrassment.

"Ah, well it's fine because…" Naegi coughs, face beet red. "It was c-comfortable for me too…"

For a while, the two of them just sit there. Both of them were blushing fiercely and couldn't believe that they had said those things.

Ikusaba in particular felt very vulnerable. It was a strange thing, feeling exposed and defenseless. Though these feelings would normally be bad for a soldier, Ikusaba couldn't deny a warm bubbling sensation in her chest. Though currently, anxiety was pretty much completely overwhelming this sensation.

Meanwhile, Naegi was desperately trying to think of a way to break the awkward silence. It had stretched on for several minutes and the silence was quickly becoming suffocating.

_What should i do oh god this is so awkward what do i say_

"Naeg-"

"Ikusaba!" Naegi says abruptly. "Would y-you like to go to the beach with me today?"

_WAIT NO DON'T SAY THAT ANYTHING BUT THAT_

Thankfully, Ikusaba didn't seem bothered by the suggestion. In fact, she looked kind of relieved for some reason. What Naegi didn't know was that she was actually about to ask the exact same thing.

"I-I'd love to, Naegi." Ikusaba says quietly.

Naegi blinks, confused. "Really?"

"Yes."

"OH MY FUCKING GOD!"

Out of nowhere, Junko screams extremely loudly, causing both Ikusaba and Naegi to jump. They spun around to face Junko, who was observing the pair with keen interest. In front of her, she had somehow gotten a bucket of popcorn and was stuffing her mouth full. With her left hand, she was waving a miniature flag around. On the flag, **Naegusaba **was written with big block letters.

"Will you two just make out or something already?! This cheesy crap is getting boring! The sheer sexual tension between you two untouched virgins is causing me to have a mental breakdown!"

"... Naegusaba?" Naegi scrunches his eyebrows together. "What's that supposed to-"

"Duh doy! Naegi x Ikusaba!" Junko snorts, throwing a kernel of popcorn at Naegi. Before the kernel could hit him though, Ikusaba snatches it out of the air with flawless technique. She tosses it into her own mouth.

Junko groans dramatically. "Seriously? You can't defend yourself if I throw something at you, but you can catch a small piece of popcorn flying at mach speed if I throw it at Naegi?"

Naegi laughs awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, Ikusaba had always protected me whenever I was in trouble. I'm really grateful for that!"

Ikusaba blushes and looks away. "It's nothing."

"Anyway, I'm going to go downstairs and eat from the buffet." Naegi says, finally getting out of bed. Not only did this hotel have a breakfast and dinner buffet, but it also had an indoor pool and a small gym.

"Me too, me too!" Junko squeals excitedly and runs up to Naegi. Though Naegi and Ikusaba had went to sleep in their regular clothes, Junko was still in pajamas. This didn't seem to bother her though.

Ikusaba sighs. "I suppose I'll go as w-"

"Nuh uh!" Junko waves her finger. "You're staying right here! Don't worry, I'll bring you food from the buffet."

"Junko-"

"No arguments Muku!"

Before she could say anything else, Junko grabs Naegi by the arm and pulls him out of the hotel room, leaving one slightly confused and irritated Ikusaba behind.


	9. Chapter 9

"Naegi, Naegi, Naegi… When are you gonna man up, huh?" Junko scowls at the boy sitting in front of her. But due to the pile of food on her plate, she had to lean sideways in order to look at him.

The two had made it to the buffet and were currently eating a big breakfast. Junko had gotten a gigantic stack of pancakes. She had gotten so many that it was actually taller than Junko herself. Each pancake had been completely drenched in maple syrup and at the very top there was a big stick of butter. Junko had actually brought the butter herself - it was a brand called 'Mondo Butter'. For some reason, Owada's face was plastered on the container.

Meanwhile, Makoto managed to be more reserved in his food choices. He had a typical breakfast of bacon, sausages, and eggs. On the side, he had a tall glass of milk.

"What do you mean Junko?"

"Jusht _go _fuhr it!" Junko exclaims through a mouth full of pancakes. "Thake the pluhnge!"

"..."

Sighing, Junko points a fork right at Naegi's face. "Look, Muku clearly has a crush on you and you clearly have a crush on her. So what the hell are you guys doing?"

Blushing slightly, Makoto looks away. "Ikusaba doesn't have a crush on me… no way."

_*BANG*_

Junko bangs her fists on the table, causing her stack of pancakes to waver. A couple of other patrons in the restaurant gives them annoyed glances, but she just ignored them. "Why the hell do you think she blushes every time you even look at her?! Don't be dense ahoge boy!"

Naegi thinks while stuffing a piece of bacon into his mouth. Now that Junko had mentioned it, Ikusaba _did _seem to turn red a lot. He had always assumed that she was just susceptible to heat, but…

_Is Junko right? Does she really have a crush on me?_

…

_Nah._

Makoto shakes his head. How could someone as amazing as Ikusaba have a crush on him? He was just an average kid who's only qualities was optimism and luck. There's no way that a beautiful soldier like her could have eyes for him…

"You said that out loud."

"... Huh? W-Wait, what?" Naegi stammers, face completely pale.

"Juuuuuust kidding!" Junko winks. "Anyway, just ask her out or kiss her or _something _. Kay?"

With that, Junko stands up for the table and leisurely makes her way back to the hotel room. She hadn't managed to finish her tower of pancakes but she made a pretty decent dent on it. It had been reduced to the size of Naegi. Their waiter scowls, clearly unimpressed.

Sensing danger, Naegi quickly drains his glass of milk and trails after Junko. He didn't want to have to explain to anyone about the leftovers… they might make him pay for it or something.

* * *

Naegi and Ikusaba both stare at each other awkwardly. Both of their faces were completely red and their breaths were shallow. Their eyes were so wide, that they looked like dinner plates.

Ikusaba was wearing a one piece swimming suit. It was pitch black and fit her body quite snugly. Naegi couldn't help but notice that the area around her chest was designed to show a fair bit of skin, leaving little to the imagination.

Naegi himself just had a simple pair of blue swimming trunks on. It was nothing special but Ikusaba felt like her head was going to explode just by looking at him. While he wasn't buult by any means, his body was still rather toned.

The first to break the silence is Naegi. "S-So… should we get going?"

They were in the hotel room and had both finished changing. There was no beach changing house so they had decided to just do it in the room. It was around 2 in the afternoon and they had both agreed that this was the perfect time to go to the beach. In one hand, Naegi held a bag with three towels, a folded umbrella, and some sunblock. Other then that, they weren;t bringing anything else though.

Instead of responding, Ikusaba just stood there, posture painfully straight. Her mind and heart were racing at a million miles an hour and her eyes bolted all over the room. She needed to distract herself in any way possible, less she faints.

_While the possibilities are slim, there may be hidden attackers posted all over the hotel and beach. In fact, there might be some in this very room. Professionals are able to hide themselves in plain sight, so it isn't that far fetched. For example, the Ultimate Secret Agent was able to conceal himself from me literally by just standing there, meaning that we could be vulnerable to attacks at any moment. I should bring infrared goggles… wait, it's bright outside, so that might interfere with it. I may have to rely on my eyesight alone to scout out potential assasi-_

"Ikusaba?"

"H-Huh?" Ikusaba blinks as she is snapped out of her stupor by Naegi's concerned voice.

"Are you okay?" Naegi stares at her with worry plastered on his face. She had been muttering to herself about attackers which obviously prompted Naegi to become concerned.

"Fine!" Ikusaba says, perhaps a bit too quickly. "I'm fine. L-Let's go."

As she said this, she swiftly opens the door and walks out in a hurry, leaving Naegi no choice but to follow her.

As Naegi catches up to Ikusaba, he notices that she had taken on a weirdly stiff stance. She was marching straight and was looking forwards unblinkingly. In fact, if you replaced her swimming suit with an army uniform, she would have looked like a real soldier.

"Ikusaba?" He asks cautiously.

She doesn't respond, instead opting to just keep marching forwards.

"Ah… I hope she's okay."

* * *

Ikusaba was _not _okay. Nothing in the world could have prepared her for this moment.

They had finally reached the beach and Ikusaba had absolutely no idea what to do. The first thing Naegi had done was claim a spot on the beach by placing a towel down on the sand. As he sat down on it, he placed his bag down, put up the umbrella, and looked up at her expectantly.

Face completely red, she decided to sit down next to him. Keeping her posture straight, she continued to look straight ahead, gaze unwavering. Acting like this was only a way for her to try and remain calm - a defense mechanism. Taking deep breaths usually worked, but in this instance, it actually seemed to make her nerves worse. She became painfully aware that the swimming suit that she was wearing exposed a lot of cleavage. Junko had picked it out for her but now she was starting to regret letting her do that.

Besides, she was afraid that if she looked at Naegi again, she wouldn't be able to take her eyes away. She would just want to keep looking at him…

Well, that would have been awkward to say the least.

For a while, the pair just sit there. Yet another awkward silence spread between them. It seemed like it has been happening more and more often ever since they had gone on this beach trip. Before, during the school year, they were able to make conversation. Even with Ikusaba's aloof personality, they had commonly talked. But now, the mood seemed too tense.

This didn't go unnoticed by Naegi. He really disliked the fact that they seemed to be distanced now. Part of it was because of all of the things that had been happening… It just made things awkward. The way Naegi sees it, there were three solutions to this.

One, he could try to clear the air and apologize for everything that had happened. They could try to go back to just being friends and put everything that has happened and Junko's weird shipping obsession behind him.

Two, he could just try to ignore it. This was probably the worst way to deal with the situation and it might make things worse.

Three, he could confess.

_"Look, Muku clearly has a crush on you and you clearly have a crush on her. So what the hell are you guys doing?"_

…

The idea was completely alien to him. He would never think in a million years that someone would crush on him over some of the other boys in his class. He was just… average.

The first option was the safest and could probably help clear the air a bit. But the third option seemed much more tempting… If Ikusaba really returned his feelings, then they could really become more than friends.

But it could irreversibly damage their friendship if it turns out that she didn't feel the same way.

…

"Ikusaba." Naegi says softly.

"Y-Yes?"

"Can you… look at me, please?"

At a painstakingly slow rate, Ikusaba turns her head to meet Naegi's gaze. Her face was completely red.

"W-What is it?"

"T-To be honest, ever since I met you at the first day of school, I've…" Naegi gulps. It was taking all of his willpower right now to not look away. At any moment, it felt like his heart could burst from excitement. He would have never imagined himself in a situation like this, but here he was…

"I've had a crush on you."

"..."

"But as we became friends and time went on, I think my feelings for you have kind of grown to the point where it isn't just a crush anymore. Ikusaba, I really like you and… w-well, to be honest, I'm in love. And I've been in love for a really long time."

There.

He had said it.

There was no turning back.

"..." Ikusaba's expression hadn't changed in the slightest. She had just kept staring at him with her piercing eyes. It felt as if she was peering into his soul. While her face was still red, her demeanor remained calm and collected.

Of course, that was all just a facade. While she seemed calm on the outside, on the inside…

_Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck oh god what do i do oh fuck god fuck fuck_

She returned those feelings. She had actually been in love ever since Naegi smiled at her that one day. At this point, Naegi was important to her as Junko was if not more. Not even Junko could make her feel this way. For some reason, she was hearing a deafening thumping noise in her ears. With each and every thump, jolts of electricity ran through her entire body. Her mind had become a messy battlefield of panic and she had no idea how she should react.

So she just sat there and continued staring at Naegi stupidly. What else could she do?

"I-Ikusaba?" Naegi asks nervously.

At the sound of her name, Ikusaba's eye twitches.

_Fuck_

Naegi leans in slightly and stares into her eyes. His eyes were a delicately soft hazel and it seemed as if she could have gotten lost in them forever. Just looking into them spiked her heart rate up even further.

She had to do something… it wasn't as if she could just sit there and stare at him forever.

There was one thing that she wanted to do. It was something that she had wanted to do ever since the first day she had met him.

So she did just that. It was the most rational thing to do in this situation, right?

Before she could second guess herself, Ikusaba grasps Naegi's head with both of her hands and smashes her lips against his. SHe had transfigured a full years worth of longing into this one singular action. It was as if she poured her entire soul into it.

And it felt _great _.

Every single neuron in her brain was fired up. Pleasure and joy coursed through every single each of her body as she kissed him. She could feel Naegi. She could _taste _Naegi. But still, it wasn't enough. This wasn't worth a year of wait. Greedy for more, she takes her hands off of his head and instead pulls him into a tight embrace. The hug was rather awkward however, and Ikusaba had miscalculated her own strength. Consequently, Naegi ends up falling to the ground. It didn't matter. She just lays on top of him and continues kissing him passionately. It was as if she was trying to merge herself with the luckster.

Finally, after a couple of minutes, Ikusaba pulls away so that they could breathe. But even as they seperate, a single strand of saliva connects their mouths together. As Ikusaba rises, a flash of red and silver appears as a ruby connected to a chain drops out of her swimming suit and falls on Naegi's chest. It was the very same necklace he had given her so long ago. She had been wearing it around her neck ever since then and was apparently wearing it even now. As they pant and desperately try to get air into their lungs, they still continue staring into each others eyes. Soft hazel meets sharp grey.

One minute passes before they catch their breath. As soon as they recover, they go right back to kissing again. This time, it was Naegi who initiated it. He wraps her arms around her neck and pulls her back down, lips colliding.

They stayed like that for a while, going back and forth between kissing and gasping for air. Neither of them say a single word throughout their exchanges - there was no need to speak. Alas, nothing can last forever and soon enough, their blissful cycle is interrupted.

"Ha! I knew it!"


	10. Chapter 10

Naegi and Ikusaba both scramble up and stare at the intruder. There, standing right next to their towel, a familiar clairvoyant wearing flip-flops and orange shorts was rubbing his nose with his finger, looking mightily proud of himself.

"You two always talk about just being friends but I have caught you in the act! Don't worry though Naegs, I approve!"

Right behind Hagakure, Junko was wearing a skimpy red bikini and was waving her cellphone around. "Heyyy! Look at what I got!"

She rushes over to the pair and giddily shows them her cellphone. Displayed on the screen was a clear photo of both of them kissing. They were pulled into a tight embrace and Ikusaba's necklace was caught between both of their chests.

"J-Junko!" Ikusaba stammers.

"Anyway, you two are finally an official couple right? Perfect! I'll arrange a wedding for you in a few months. Good luck sis!" Junko gives her a sickeningly sweet smile before skipping away.

Naegi pales. "Wedding?"

"Don't worry, Junko is kidding… probably." Ikusaba nods reassuringly.

"Right." Naegi clears his throat and smiles timidly at Ikusaba. "So, are we an… official couple?"

Ikusaba blushes. "O-Only if you're okay with that."

"Of course I'm okay with that!" Naegi grabs both of Ikusaba's hands and holds them tightly. As he does so, Naegi gives her a mischievous grin. "Want me to prove it?"

The soldier gasps at his sudden change in demeanor. "Okay… I-I guess we're boy friend and girlfriend?"

Strange. Just last year, the thought of having a boyfriend was repulsive to her. Now that she actually had one though, she felt great. Adrenaline surges through her entire body as she says this out loud. But it was a scary thing, being in a relationship.

"Naegi, I…" Suddenly, Ikusaba shakes her head. "No, _Makoto._"

"!"

"Makoto, you've already said it so now it's my turn." Blushing, Ikusaba looks once more into Naegi's eyes. "I love you."

"And I'll say it as many times as I need to. I love you too… Mukuro."

"Jeez you two." Hagakure shakes his head. "Take it back to the ho-"

Hagakure's voice quickly dries up as Ikusaba stands and glares at him. It was a glare that sent one clear question: _Do you want to die?_

"Ahaha!" Hagakure quickly backs up, laughing awkwardly. "You know what, I'm just gonna leave you guys alone. Have fun!"

Sighing, Ikusaba turns her attention back to Naegi. If she could, she would stay here forever. Just the two of them, for the rest of eternity. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible. No one has an unlimited amount of time.

So instead, they just spend what little time they do have together. For the better part of the day and afternoon, Ikusaba and Naegi stay locked in embrace under their beach umbrella. Sometimes, they talk about random topics. But most of the time, they are silent, instead drawing comfort from each other's presence. Before they knew it, the sky had turned from blue to pink, and then to orange.

Eventually, the tide had started to rise so they were forced to go back to the didn't end up swimming but it was still enjoyable nonetheless. As Ikusaba helps Naegi pack up, she looks out to the rapidly darkening sky.

The future was uncertain - that was always true. For a long time, Ikusaba had been indifferent to this fact. She had always felt that the future didn't really matter. But now that she was together with Naegi, she had started to feel fear for the first time. Being with him had opened her up to many new experiences, She had felt things that she would have never dreamed of feeling before the school year.

So yes, she was no longer a cold and uncaring soldier. And yes, she was scared of the future. She didn't know how everything would work out. She would openly admit that she was terrified.

She was terrified, but she wasn't worried.

Ikusaba would not falter for she had Naegi by her side.

And together, they would face the future.

* * *

***A/N*: Fin.**

**The last chapter is pretty short but that was just because I wanted to end this fic on the tenth chapter. It's just more satisfying.**

**Anyway, this fic was also short but I've written all that I've wanted to about these two. Hope it was enjoyable.**

**(And yes, I did try to make the ending as cheesy as possible)**


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